Something to Hold On To
by ohmygodagiantrock
Summary: Years after the ceremonial duel, Yugi and his friends find a way to bring Atem back to life, only for him to find that his world feels far emptier than he'd prepared himself for.
1. My Desperate Cry

Warnings: Rated T for mild suggestive themes, yaoi, self-harm, and (*gasp!*) underage drinking… sort of. Maybe some language.

A/N: OhMyGodAGiantRock here, back after some time trying to readjust my brain and really settle on a project. I've got something else in the works too, but I've hit a roadblock with it. Decided to throw this out there in the meantime.

A special thank you to Deck Divination for helping me get this piece out! I appreciate the various suggestions, and I hope the final piece turned out ok. And to anyone gracing my story with their time, feedback and/or constructive criticism is always welcome.

~I am in no way trying to make light of a serious situation such as suicide, so please, don't take it that way. This is just meaningless fiction.~

Now then, disclaimers aside, shall we?

* * *

"Me, I'm rusted and weathered  
Barely holding together  
I'm covered with skin that peels  
And it just won't heal  
The sun shines and I can't avoid the light  
I think I'm holding on to life too tight  
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust  
Sometimes I feel like giving up"

_~Creed, Weathered_

* * *

_It had been a few years since Yugi and his friends sent the pharaoh Atem into the afterlife, and Seto's world had calmed since. He was able to focus solely on his work and his brother, without so many distractions and dangers. There was certainly still the occasional kidnapper trying to take Mokuba hostage or madman coming after Seto for revenge, but for the most part, life became simpler. However, though Seto would rarely admit to even himself, he knew it somehow felt colder now as well. He chalked it up to having his last opportunity to regain his Duel Monsters championship title taken from him, but he sometimes wondered if there wasn't more to it than that. Yes, his title had meant a lot to him - or at least to his ego. But perhaps it also had to do with those twerps. Seto didn't feel like he had changed much himself. He was still a hard working and cold CEO, intimidating to any who crossed him. He seldom thought about the group of teenagers he had grown to know so well, but he sometimes wondered what became of them. He hadn't encountered Yugi or his group of friends since that day. He had watched a few of the tournament duels Yugi participated in (sometimes even spotting a few of his friends on the sidelines), as he was still recognized as the King of Games. But Seto knew he would never challenge Yugi again, even though it meant retiring from the game he loved so much. He couldn't bring himself to care if the world ever saw him as champion again if he himself didn't feel like he had truly beaten the King of Games, when he knew the man he'd truly seen as the King of Games was gone for good._

Seto Kaiba sighed, both from fatigue as well as contentedness, as he sat back in the seat of his long black limo. It was rush hour on Thursday evening, and he was finally ready for a long past-due vacation. Work wasn't something he exactly took pleasure in, rather it was something he had to do - for himself as well as for his little brother - and he took satisfaction in his accomplishments. That was enough for him, but there were times when the load grew too heavy and rest became non-existent that he knew he had to walk away; if even for a weekend. Seto had made plans to spend the next three days at one of his neglected vacation homes. The location he chose was a cabin peacefully tucked away in the mountains. It was Seto's favorite, though Mokuba wasn't nearly as fond of it, often mistaking the peaceful serenity of the mountains as 'boring'. Seto understood Mokuba's childish desires to stay in a city setting or on the beach for the long weekend, and allowed his younger brother - not quite so young, these days - to take a separate vacation. He would take a small group of peers, given that Isono, and the housekeepers, would chaperone.

Mokuba had flown on a private jet with his companions to their beach house earlier that afternoon, leaving Seto to himself, finishing work for the week. The brothers agreed that they would contact each other by phone once per night, but Mokuba was to arrive at the cabin Sunday morning to spend the last day of their vacations with Seto at their house in the mountains.

_Two entire days to myself in a silent house, with no need to worry about goals, deadlines or rivals. All of that can wait until Monday. _Seto thought to himself, eagerly anticipating the time to come._ I can finally catch up on my reading; perhaps I'll even brush up on my piano skills. When Mokuba arrives on Sunday we could play a few games together. Maybe he'll want to go swimming?_

Seto glanced out the tinted window of his limousine with a hint of impatience, bored cerulean eyes hardly taking in what they were seeing. His mind was elsewhere. The limo, which had been crawling at an excruciatingly slow pace already, now came to a stop behind a long line of backed-up traffic.

"Just great," Seto snarled under his breath. Patience may be a virtue, but it had never been one of his.

Now trying to find something out the window to distract him from his impatience, Seto was hit by a strong sense of unwelcome nostalgia when he finally took in his surroundings. From where the limousine stood frozen in place, Seto had a clear view of the Domino City harbor, of the dock in particular.

The scene was dusted with a thick crowd of city patrons going about their various business, but during the time Seto's Battle City Tournament overtook his hometown there had been none. None, that is, but his rival and the teenager's own best friend, forced into a duel-to-the-death against one another. Seto had been outraged to find his tournament being _used_, and in such a twisted way. It wasn't as though the man had been unfamiliar with the concept of forcing his opponent's hand, but Seto was used to being the one to do the forcing.

He shook his head in hopes of derailing his train of thought. As his chestnut locks fell back into place, Seto's eyes caught a glimpse of familiar tri-colored hair moving quickly through the crowd.

_Has Yugi really grown so much? No…_ Seto thought, watching the figure, who looked determined as ever, weaving in and out of the crowd. _I saw him duel on television no more than a month ago. He _had_ grown, but he still looked like a squirt. Then… This couldn't be… There's no way! Could it…? _Seto's thoughts trailed off as he watched the man, a small ray of what he could only relate to as hope rising in his chest.

The man had broken through the mob of people and stepped onto the very dock he'd once been forced to fight against Jounouchi for both of their lives. Seto's eyes continued to watch him, having noticed that his determined stance had faded. He stepped out of his limousine, ignoring the confused inquiries of his driver as he brushed by, walking briskly in the direction of where the former great Pharaoh of Egypt now stood.

* * *

_Having my own body, I expected life to go on as it had when I shared a vessel with my hikari. But nothing had prepared me for the struggles I now face. Having been so caught up in figuring out my past, I had failed to realize previously how little of an impact I may have had during the day-to-day lives of my friends. Yugi has work in his grandfather's game shop. Anzu has gone to New York to follow her dream of dancing. Jounouchi has become a construction worker to help his father pay rent, and Honda is attending community college. I don't even have Duel Monsters anymore, my title belonging to Yugi and my rival having retired._

_Egypt is, of course, no longer as I knew it, and is no place for me to return to in this time. I realize my friends may have missed me enough to perform the ritual in my tomb several weeks ago, but if only they had known to just let me be! At peace, there was nothing left for me to accomplish; nothing else that needed me to wake from my slumber. There are no challenges; no threats; no danger! There is nothing left for me in this world. If only Yugi could see that._

_What is the point? Certainly Yugi is cheerful enough about having me around, but sitting around his home with no purpose is going to drive me mad! My thoughts often roam free, and rarely into welcome territories. How could I be expected to live a normal life after all I have lived through and accomplished? After becoming king of Egypt, my whole life had been planned out by fate. Now I find I am left in an empty shell, with no purpose or reason for being. The King in a game of chess, with no board beneath me on which to play._

_I have far too many uncomfortable thoughts roaming through my head, and I feel determined to make them stop, one way or another. It is a complex list of problems that torment me, but I know the solution is simple._

Atem sighed deeply, stopping his feet from walking as he reached the edge of the dock. He slipped a small envelope out of his pocket. He opened it and pulled a single piece of white paper from it, eyeing it. He was unaware of his surroundings as his eyes scanned the words he had written himself, and had re-read half a dozen times already.

_My friends,_

_I am sorry to have to part with you once more. However, I am only sorry because I know this will cause you grief, and I do not wish such pain upon those I care about._

_But you do not understand._

_My purpose was fulfilled. I have no more reason for being in this world, yet you have brought me back. I realize that you have missed me, as I have missed you. But we said our farewells once before. You should have moved on and forgotten me. I have no place here._

_Do you wish me to feel tormented so? Certainly not, I know. I realize I am loved by you, my friends, and I love you in return. But I wish to rest, and I am determined to let it be so._

_I hope you, as well, will do this for me._

_~Atem_

Atem folded the paper once more and placed it back inside the envelope, sealing it this time. He knew his looks would get him recognized, even if his body became mangled. Somebody would be able to deliver the note to Yugi somehow; he had no doubt. He took a deep breath to build his resolve, and let it out slowly. After removing the cartouche Anzu had given him from around his neck, he set the envelope onto the wooden platform beneath his feet and placed the silver pendant over it to keep it from blowing away.

Atem stopped to reflect on the last time he'd been here. He'd been in a duel against Malik, who'd used Jounouchi as a puppet in his cruel game. Both Yugi and Jounouchi had been in very real danger of losing their lives that day, and Anzu hadn't been in a very good place either.

If he hadn't had so much weight piled onto his own shoulders back then, he wouldn't have minded if the worst had happened, so long as it _only_ happened to him. _No need for my dear friends to become collateral damage,_ he thought darkly.

Atem had felt, through his mental connection with Yugi, how cold the rushing water had been when he had been plunged into the deep blue; how the forces of nature begged to swallow up his tiny form, until he was nothing. To Yugi, it had been terrifying, and Atem sympathized for his young friend's fear. But as he recalled the sensation that had passed between their minds Atem felt intoxicated, overwhelmed by the desire for those waves to wash over him like the manifestation of the relief he sought.

Atem took another deep breath, trying to steady his beating heart. Yes, he knew his friends loved him. They loved him for his company, his advice, his comfort. But they didn't really _care_ about him, did they? That was impossible, or they never would have done this to him. Their love was selfish.

Determination returned to his features. He had one shot at this. If he failed, and Yugi learned of his intentions, he knew he would not be allowed a second chance. He could not afford to lose, for the sake of his sanity.

He began to rush forward, over the edge of the dock and toward the icy water beneath it.

* * *

The man stood still, several yards in front of Seto. The CEO remained silent, watching him as he placed an envelope on the ground with such care. Something was off about his behavior; Seto would not have left his limo if he didn't believe that was the case. It didn't appear that he was simply reminiscing, nor did Seto believe the harbor could hold anything but bitter memories for the man before him.

Seto stepped forward cautiously, watching from behind, not wishing to announce his presence. Other people rushed past, hardly giving either man a second glance. The cars were still backed up behind him.

Seto wondered how long he could afford to stand idly by and watch this man's suspicious behavior before taking action. That question was answered as he saw Atem lift his black boot suddenly and move, readying himself to dart into the water. Seto, not stopping to think, lunged forward to close the distance before grabbing hold of Atem's wrist. With a rough _yank_, Seto pulled the man back onto the dock. He kept his hand on Atem's wrist and wrapped his free arm tightly around his chest holding him still, pressed up against himself. Despite Atem's struggles to free himself, he found he was unable to move.

"What do you think you're trying to do, you idiot?!" Seto's deep voice resounded in the man's ear, still behind him, breathing heavy. The sound of his voice made Atem turn his head to face him.

"Kaiba?" His eyes grew wide. He hadn't seen, or even heard, much of Kaiba since his return. He was unsure Seto had even known he had been brought back.

"Who else?" Seto spoke roughly in response.

"Let go of me." He tried to shake himself free again, his heart pumping from adrenaline and panic. This time Seto dropped his arm from around Atem's chest and released his grip, allowing him to turn around fully, panting from this ordeal.

"You didn't answer my question." Atem glared at Seto. He had lost his chance. _Typical of Kaiba to stand in my way of an important task,_ Atem scoffed.

"I don't have to answer to you, Kaiba." Atem let his anger seep into his voice.

Seto chuckled coldly before responding. "You sound like me."

"What the hell is your point?" Seto said nothing, but simply crossed his arms and stared back at the man, studying him. Atem grew impatient, shouting at the CEO further. "Will you get on with it so I can get back to my business?"

"Now you _definitely_ sound like me." Without further hesitation, Seto reached forward and clamped his fingers like a vice around Atem's wrist once more before turning around. He raised one hand in the air briefly to flag down his driver. The limo was parked on the side of the road not many yards beyond the two men. The driver, having seen the action, put the car in gear and pulled up beside them.

Seto pulled on Atem's wrist, but he refused his move his feet. The chauffeur seemed to take the hesitation as a sign to put the car in park and get out to open the passenger door for his boss and his companion, which he did. Atem glared at the man in his black suit and polished shoes holding the door open for him. Why he felt such anger toward the situation, he was unsure, but he couldn't deny that the emotion was there, and very powerful.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, Kaiba."

"Look, _pharaoh_, or whatever it is that your lame little friends are calling you these days. I've been mourning my shot at that championship title you took from me ever since the day you handed me my first defeat. Yugi took my last chance to duel you, and then you disappeared. Now that I know you're alive, like hell I'm going to just let you off yourself in the middle of Domino city while I look the other way."

"You're still going on about that damned duel? Let it go, Kaiba! I heard you've retired. Don't have the guts to face Yugi for the title? You should know it isn't mine anymore."

"It doesn't matter what the world thinks. I know _you're_ the one who defeated _me_. Dueling Yugi isn't enough for me, title or not."

"Just give it a rest." Atem said quietly. "And anyway, I'm no longer Pharaoh."

"What _am_ I to call you, then?"

"My name. Atem." He tugged the arm Seto gripped, and when that didn't work, he used his free hand to attempt prying Seto's vice-like fingers off of his wrist, to no avail.

"I'm not letting you go until you agree to come with me." Seto increased his grip, though not trying to hurt the smaller. He knew he was the stronger of the two, and he was not afraid to prove it.

"I already told you that I'm not going anywhere with you."

"What's the matter? You think I bite?" He smirked. "Coming with me can't be much worse than what you had planned here." Seto lightly gestured to the end he'd just saved his rival from.

Atem sighed, still unable to free himself from Seto's grip.

"You're not going to give up, are you Kaiba?"

"Do I ever?" Atem clenched his teeth and shook his head slightly, his eyes now downcast. Seto dropped his wrist, and the former pharaoh rubbed the red marks his slender fingers had left. Seto stepped aside gesturing to the open door of his limousine. Atem glared at him for a moment, but seeing Seto's hard stare made him let out another sigh. He knew Kaiba was the stronger male, and if he tried to take off, he doubted he could outrun the CEO either. After turning back quickly to retrieve his cartouche and envelope, he pushed past the brunette and slid into the limo, exasperated. Seto followed suit and the chauffeur closed the door.

"Care to tell me what the hell that was back there?" Seto asked once they were settled in and had been on the road a few moments.

"No," was all Atem had responded with as he stared grimly out the window. He chose to sit as far from Seto as the car would allow, arms hugged loosely around himself.

"Figures." He paused for a bit, watching the former king. "What's with the envelope?"

Atem froze, caught off guard. "None of your business," he replied coldly. He crammed the crumpled paper back into the pocket of his leather jeans.

_Fine, if that's how you're going to be…_ Seto thought to himself, growing frustrated. This was not Atem's usual attitude toward him. He let his thoughts about the situation wander while silence filled the air between them. Had he really just interrupted a suicide attempt? If that was so, there was a good chance the letter in Atem's pocket was a note of farewell.

"Where are we going?" Atem broke the silence, disrupting Seto's thoughts.

Seto didn't answer right away. For a moment, he contemplated taking him to Yugi's game shop, but somehow he had a feeling that might not help the situation. As long as Atem was still a danger to himself, he decided he couldn't let the man out of his sight. He would contemplate later why it was he felt so certain of that.

"We're going into the mountains." Atem gave him an incredulous look. Clearly the answer Seto gave was far from anything he'd expected. "I'm taking a short vacation at a home I own there. And you're coming with me."

Atem raised an eyebrow at this, but did not respond directly. What could he do now that he was already in the car, anyway? Of course, he could always try to jump out, and possibly get killed in the process. Not that he minded that outcome, but the chances of Seto allowing that to happen seemed slim.

"Where is Mokuba?" Atem asked in a low voice. The boy was nearly always at Seto's heels. So why wasn't he here while Seto rode off into the mountains?

"He's taking a separate vacation elsewhere."

"By himself?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Isono is with him." Atem still appeared confused, so he continued explaining. "Mokuba isn't fond of our house in the mountains. He finds it boring. He also thought I could use a few quiet days to myself, but it seems that I'll be using my time to baby-sit you instead."

"I didn't ask you to do that. If I'm such a burden, why don't you just take me home?"

"So you can try to kill yourself again? Not a chance. And I never said you're a burden." Atem looked directly into cerulean blue eyes and, for the first time since the two had met, those eyes looked back at him with a subtle softness. It would have been difficult to even detect had Atem not been so accustomed to see the hard glare chiseled into his features.

"The letter in your pocket is a suicide note, isn't it?" Seto asked quietly, not looking at Atem directly. He registered what seemed to be a small nod before Atem turned to face the window again. "Can I see it?" He wasn't exactly sure why he had asked. The question had made Atem shift in his seat uncomfortably, but he didn't respond. Seto almost wished he hadn't asked, but his curiosity was strong. _What could possibly have him so upset that he's decided he can't live anymore? I can list off a dozen reasons to justify myself taking the easy way out, but what the hell does he have to cry about?_

There was little else spoken during the journey before it seemed that Atem had drifted off with his head leaning against the car window. Seto detected his breathing deepen and determined he was likely unconscious. He rolled his eyes and reached into his pocket for his cell phone to contact Mokuba. Not wanting to wake the man sleeping next to him with a phone conversation, he slid the phone's keyboard open to compose a text instead.

"_Mokuba, plans have changed. I won't be staying at the house alone. I'll call you later tonight with details. I ran into someone unexpected."_

Seto let the phone rest in his lap and less than a minute later it silently flashed a blue light with his brother's reply.

"_Dare I ask? I take it you won't want me coming over on Sunday after all and… interrupting?"_

_Typical teenager._ Seto growled under his breath at his brother's misinterpretation and typed out a fast response.

"_Get your mind out of the gutter. Yes, I still want to see you on Sunday. I'll explain over the phone when I get to the house. Enjoying your freedom?"_

The sun had begun to set and the tinted windows drowned out much of what was left of the sunlight. A dim blue glow lit up the interior of the car once more.

"_I thought you would be there by now. I guess you were at work later than you expected? And yes, I'm having fun. My friends want to go swimming tonight when the sun goes down completely."_

"_I left work early enough but I was stopped along the way. And be careful."_

"_I will. Isono's here to play lifeguard, and we're not that far from the city if anything did happen."_

"_Ah, an uncertified substitute lifeguard, several miles from a hospital. That makes me feel much better."_

"_We have first aid supplies, and the chopper if we need it. You need to chill out, bro. You're on vacation, after all!"_

Seto glanced over to the figure sleeping next to him. _Chill out. Vacation._ How restful would this weekend end up being after all? He picked his phone up again and replied.

"_Whatever. Call me immediately if anything does happen. I already gave that instruction to Isono, so there should be no excuse to not have me notified in the case of an emergency."_

"_Nii-sama, would you feel better if we didn't go swimming at night?"_

"_I would feel better if you had come with me. After all, why oughtn't I worry about you? Enjoy yourself, but don't be reckless. I'll call you in an hour or so. Keep your phone nearby."_

"_K, Seto. Talk to you later."_

Once again Seto had the urge to roll his eyes. His brother was vice president of the world's most prestigious gaming corporation, yet he could act so immature. _No matter,_ Seto mused. _At least he can enjoy himself. I'm stuck taking care of sleeping beauty._ He watched the tri-colored male, contemplating how his entire weekend just got trampled. Yes, he had told Atem he was not a burden. But that didn't mean his presence wasn't going to change any of Seto's plans for the weekend.


	2. A Long, Dark Night

Atem woke to a hand lightly shaking his shoulder. He opened his groggy eyes and pulled his heavy head off the hard car window, gently rubbing the spot that had been resting against the glass.

"We've arrived." Atem turned to where the voice had come from to see Seto sitting on the opposite side of the same car seat, and nodded that he understood. He tried to see out the tinted window but all was black, so he opened the door instead.

As Seto and Atem stepped out of the back of the limo, motion-detecting lights illuminated a walkway leading to a large two-storied log cabin in the middle of a large group of trees. Atem took one look at the building and turned to Seto.

"This doesn't seem like your kind of place."

"Keep your comments to yourself until you see the rest of it." As Seto spoke he was already making his way to the door, briefcase in hand. The long black trench he wore, embellished with gunmetal studs that shone in the dim light, flowing freely behind him. Atem followed behind him unsure of what else to do. He didn't feel he cared for his situation but he could recall from past experience that at least Seto's company wouldn't bore him.

_Maybe spending the weekend here isn't _such_ a terrible thing,_ Atem considered._ Yugi doesn't know where I am. When Kaiba takes me back to Domino, I can continue where I left off. Or perhaps I'll come up with something to improvise…_

When the men reached the front door, Seto dug his keys out of his pocket, fingering each key in the dim light until he found the right one. A small sparkle of silver light caught Atem's eyes and he glanced down at the keys in Seto's hand. The silver glint had come from a small metallic-looking figurine of a Blue Eyes White Dragon, wings tucked in and hanging from the key ring by its teeth. Atem couldn't help but let out a heavy chuckle as Seto finally turned the knob and slipped the key ring, dragon and all, back into his pocket. Before entering the dark house, Seto turned around to shoot Atem a confused look, eyebrow raised in question.

"You actually have a Blue Eyes _keychain_?" Atem laughed a little louder at how much sillier the concept seemed now that it had been said aloud.

"Yes. I do," he announced proudly, then added, picking up his briefcase and entering the house, "And I happen to like it. Mokuba commissioned it to be made for me."

"It is pretty cute." Atem smirked. He still remembered how to push Seto's buttons.

Seto stopped and glared at him while he fumbled for the light switch. "Blue Eyes isn't _cute_. If you noticed how much detail had been put into its design, it looks rather ferocious. Now tell me you wouldn't sport a Dark Magician keychain if you had one."

Atem stopped to think about that for a moment as he examined the now-illuminated interior of his former rival's vacation home. He agreed that the inside was certainly nothing to scoff at.

"Perhaps I would." Atem admitted. He gazed around at the modern appliances and stylish furniture and décor. It certainly wasn't rustic looking like he had half-expected upon seeing the exterior. "It seems you've made me eat my words. This is actually a rather nice place, Kaiba."

Seto grunted his acknowledgment. "I consider it burglar deterrent. This is a low-security residence, therefore I wanted the outside to be designed to look like a basic cabin to make the building appear inconspicuous to anyone that might happen upon it. Not that they should be wandering around in _my_ woods, anyway…" He trailed off and stepped aside so the chauffeur could bring his bags inside.

"That's certainly an interesting strategy," Atem remarked, clearly with little interest in the subject. "Kaiba." he sighed after a pause. "How long do you intend for me to stay here?"

"I'm not holding you prisoner. You can leave any time you want."

Atem narrowed his eyes and scoffed at the taller man. "Then why didn't you just let me go when we were still in Domino?"

"_After_ we have a little duel, that is," Seto clarified. "I'm not about to let you escape me into the afterlife again without one."

"Kaiba, I'm not dueling you." He stated defiantly. "I don't even have a deck anymore."

"What a pity," he said sarcastically. "Lucky for you, I brought plenty of cards of my own. You can build a new deck with those. I do happen to have a copy of your favorite card with me."

"Wait a moment. You've retired. Why would you bother bringing along your cards?"

"I've retired from tournament duels. I still play occasionally, to keep my skills sharp. I haven't, however, retired from hosting tournaments and I find it important to keep myself up-to-date with the newest strategies and play styles," Seto explained flawlessly.

"What is the point of all _this_, then? Why must you be so obsessed with defeating me?"

Seto smirked. Hadn't he been asking himself that for years? Did he even understand that, himself? He chose to ignore the questions and answer Atem's previous inquiry instead.

"I intend to leave for Domino Sunday night. You may stay as long as you wish until then, but if you choose to leave, I expect a duel before I call you a ride."

Atem let out an exasperated sigh. No amount of excuses was going to please this stubborn man, it seemed. He would have to either give in or wait it out, unless he came up with a way out of the situation before the weekend ended. He decided the best thing would be to drop the subject, at least for the night. He was tired, and he was beginning to feel his hunger growing. He put a hand to his stomach to calm the growls he felt would soon be audible.

This action did not go unnoticed by the CEO. After rolling his eyes at the young pharaoh yet again, he flung off his black trench coat and he turned on his heel in the direction of the kitchen. His coat landed gracefully sprawled across the nearest armchair.

Atem, though admittedly impressed with the man's flair, followed behind reluctantly. He was not used to this situation, and wasn't entirely certain how he felt about spending several days in close quarters with a man he didn't very often get along with. _And where is the housekeeping staff?_ he wondered. Seto owned a mansion - didn't he usually have a plethora of employees to do every miniscule task around the house for him? Yet even the man that brought in Seto's bags had left, driving off with the limo.

When he entered the kitchen, Seto was rifling through the refrigerator. He was speaking, but with his head buried in the fridge, all Atem could hear were mumbles. When he pulled away, one hand filled with various food items, he could see that the other hand held a cell phone to his ear.

He set the items on the nearby counter, turned around and leaned against it while he finished his conversation and said his farewells to who Atem determined must have been Mokuba. He returned the phone to his pocket and focused his attention on the food he had pulled out of the fridge. Without turning to face Atem, he spoke.

"As you've probably noticed, there is no staff here. I am not intending to pay anyone to cook this weekend, but the refrigerator is fully stocked. There ought to be enough food to last both of us through the weekend, even if you choose stay until Sunday."

"And what am I to do about clothing? I haven't brought anything with me. You didn't give me the chance."

"If I'd given you the opportunity to pack, what's to say you would have gotten back in the car with me?"

Atem crossed his arms defensively, but couldn't quite bring himself to look Seto in the eyes.

"That's what I thought. If you don't mind me asking - or even if you do, I don't really care - what exactly is it that's got you so worked up you're set on trying to kill yourself?"

Atem's eyes narrowed again but he continued to hold his stance, staring at the wall beside Seto's head. He stayed silent for a few moments, trying to decide if he should speak, or leave. His instinct told him to leave; run out into the woods and hope he could find a car along the road willing to take him far away from anyone asking these questions, or trying to stop him. Though, Atem doubted he would even make it to the front door before Seto stopped him. He had made it clear to Atem earlier, after all, that Seto was the stronger of the two.

Seto's impatience broke the silence. "Allow me to rephrase that. I've never known you to be a quitter. You're more the 'fight until the last card' type. Given that, what exactly is so bad now that you have to give up? Giving up is a sign of weakness."

"Is that all it ever comes down to with you; _who_ is the stronger individual?"

"I wasn't bringing myself into the equation at all."

Atem growled. "Let it go." He lowered his voice and turned around, no longer bothering to even look at the other man while he spoke. "I'm not hungry. Just show me where I'll be sleeping."

"You seemed hungry two minutes ago." Seto said at his back, eyeing him before walking off toward the hallway leading upstairs to the bedrooms. He didn't turn to see if Atem was following; he couldn't hear the smaller man's footsteps on the plush carpeted floor, but he could feel his presence. He stopped in front of the first door at the top of the stairs.

"You can sleep in this room. There's a full washroom at the end of the hall. There's only one shower, but if you need to use it, there should be unopened bottles of bath soaps and whatever else you might need. There's a half-bath downstairs as well, but I'm sure you're capable of finding it yourself should you need to." Atem put his hand on the doorknob and pushed it open but Seto stopped him before he could enter. "Come with me for a moment." Seto led the Egyptian further down the hall, one door shy of where he had noted the bathroom to be and he stepped into the room himself. Atem stopped at the doorway, but Seto gestured him to the closet he stood in front of. "You said you need clothes. I will make one last demand on my staff this weekend and request that my driver returns in the morning with a few changes of attire in your size. In the meantime, you'll probably want something to sleep in besides the leather pants you have on. I've not worn any of these, and they ought to serve you well enough for one night. Pick whatever you need." He started to walk out and leave Atem to work, but stopped in the doorway, facing out.

"Oh, and one more thing." He flashed Atem a cold smirk. "Don't kill yourself in my house. I'm on vacation. I don't want to have to clean up any messes you leave behind." Seto thought about telling him to do so outside if he had to. It was in his nature to piss the smaller man off, but at the same time, he felt reluctant about giving him any ideas.

Seto returned to the kitchen where he had left vegetables and chicken on the counter and went on to prepare himself a meal. Opening each of the packages, he determined he would double the portions in case Atem came back down hungry later. He reached behind himself and turned on one burner of the stove while he prepared the vegetables. He diced the celery and some onion and pressed garlic, adding them all to the heated pan on the stove. Moving onto the raw chicken breast, he began to get lost in his thoughts. _Damn, _he swore to himself while taking to slicing the meat. _That might not have been the wisest thing to say to a man gone suicidal. It's probably just going to make this worse. It's not as though we've been terrific friends from the get-go. I suppose that antagonizing him isn't likely to help me deal with this situation._

Seto was beginning to get wrapped up in his thoughts instead of watching his hands, and didn't notice when his index finger slipped a little too close to the large knife.

"Fuck." Seto muttered, immediately wrapping his hand around his fingertip to slow the blood flow while he used his elbow to flip on the faucet of the sink behind him. Soft footsteps padded from somewhere behind him, but Seto paid little attention. He did, however, notice enough to reach back to the cutting board and take the knife he had been using and pull it into the sink and out of reach. It needed to be cleaned now anyway.

"Kaiba. I came to see if you wanted any h- are you ok?"

"I'm fine." Seto ran his finger under the water but was bleeding more than he had anticipated. Not wanting to bleed on his clothes or the floor, he searched for a towel or dishcloth to wrap his hand with. He found them all out of reach. Sighing, he turned toward Atem and gestured for one of the clean, white towels hanging on the oven handle. The former king did as was requested and handed Seto the towel, spotting the blood in the sink and on the knife as he did so. Seto took t he cloth and immediately wrapped his finger.

"What happened?"

"My finger slipped while I was cutting the meat. It's no big deal." He walked briskly out of the room in the direction of what Atem soon saw was the downstairs half-bath Seto had mentioned. He used his free hand to dig through the medicine cabinet for bandages. He unwrapped the towel from his hand, running cold water over the wound again to wash off the extra blood that had gathered. He squeezed the tip of his finger to slow the circulation and help stop the bleeding while water continued to clean his wound. The men stood quietly together in the small room while this happened until Seto broke the silence, having noticed the man was wearing his own light blue silken pajamas. He had to admit, though slightly large on him, they suited the smaller man well.

"What did you come back down for? I didn't quite catch what you said."

"I wanted to ask if you needed any help with the meal." He hesitated before continuing. "I guess I'm not actually as tired as I thought I was."

"Mhm," was all Seto skeptically replied with before finally slapping a bandage on his finger and exiting the room. He hurriedly returned to the stovetop where the vegetables were only just starting to smoke. He lifted the pan and began to stir until the smoking died down, adding a little extra oil. _Salvageable, _he determined. _Not burned._ He lowered the heat and returned the pan before turning his attention back to the chicken.

"Do you want me to pick up where you left off?" Atem gestured to his injured hand.

"Oh, _please_. It's little more than a paper cut. It's not that it hurts _so much_ I can't finish what I started. I just didn't want to bleed all over the food." _Speaking of…_ He discarded any unusable pieces of chicken and grabbed a new knife. "If you're just looking for something to do, you can start by cooking rice. The rice cooker is on the counter behind me and there should be a bag of rice in one of the cabinets directly above it." Atem didn't move immediately, which caused Seto to stop slicing the meat and look up at him.

"You do know how to cook rice, don't you? If not there are directions right on-"

"I know how to cook, Kaiba." He moved to the cabinet Seto had pointed him to and found the large bag of rice. "I just thought it was interesting to see that you do something other than duel and work."

"Hey," Seto snapped defensively. "I happen to enjoy cooking, and I would do it more often if I had the time."

"Well, I do have to admit, it smells good already."

"That's just the vegetables so far. I haven't even started yet," Seto bragged. Atem set the rice to cook. Seto turned to scrape the chicken from the cutting board into a heated pan next to the vegetables when he stopped to glance at Atem from the corner of his eye.

"Hey…" He started quietly, unsure of how to word what he wanted - no, felt he needed - to say.

"Yes?" Atem insisted, almost uncertain he had heard the man.

"…I'm sorry." Seto hesitated a moment longer before scraping the chicken into the pan and continuing his thought, still not looking directly at him. "About what I said earlier. That was… unfair. I don't want you to kill yourself."

"Not until you get your rematch." Atem said flatly.

"It isn't about that." He sighed deeply, stirring the chicken to keep his hands from fidgeting. He really was no good at these emotional things. "I've admired your strength. I've seen you fight incredible battles with high stakes without faltering. It bothers me to see you feeling so weak. I don't want to watch you give up on yourself."

"Kaiba… I don't know what to say."

"Just tell my why."

Atem didn't say anything right away, but stared down at the dish Seto was still stirring.

"You would not be able to understand, even if I were to tell you."

Seto watched him a moment more before saying sternly, "Try me." Atem said nothing in response. A sudden thought occurred to Seto and he changed the subject.

"Does Yugi know you're here? I figured you would have called him by now. Do you even have a cell phone?"

Atem crossed his arms and looked away from Seto. "I have nothing," he said simply before walking out of the kitchen, leaving Seto blinking, trying to decipher what the man meant.

Atem did not go back up to his room but instead into the living room. The man found himself sitting in a chair across from where Seto had tossed his coat earlier.

Seto finished cooking the meal, adding some spices and quickly whipping up a sauce. He dished the stir fry over two bowls of the rice Atem had cooked and set them on opposite sides on the marble countertop of the island in the middle of the kitchen. He pulled two crystal wine glasses down from a cupboard and set a chilled bottle of chenin blanc white wine between the two bowls. Seto glanced in the direction of the living room where Atem had gone, but shook his head and sat down to pour himself a glass of wine.

Seto began eating the meal he'd prepared in silence, but Atem didn't come to join him on his own.

"The meal is finished. I've dished two servings, " Seto called out when he'd finished nearly half his portion. "I can't imagine it tastes as good cold." The room remained silent for a short while but Seto could eventually make out the sounds of feet shuffling from the adjacent room.

Atem stopped in the doorway, seeing the promised second bowl of food set out across from Seto and the unexpected bottle of wine.

Seto looked up at his guest. "Have a seat. You can lie to me all you want, but I'm sure you must be hungry by now." Atem did as he had been told.

"Wine?" Atem asked, confused, though Seto seemed to take it as a request and pushed the bottle closer to the former pharaoh.

"I hadn't poured you a glass because I wasn't certain you would want any."

"Actually Kaiba, what I meant was 'why?'."

"Then you should have asked. White wine goes well with poultry. Chenin Blanc. I'm more partial to a dry wine but this particular blend is more on the sweet side to better coordinate with the meal." Atem examined the bottle. "I have other beverages in the refrigerator if you would prefer something else." He examined Atem's quizzical look before smirking and responding, "I'm not trying to get you drunk, if that's what you're getting at."

Atem chuckled and poured his glass three-quarters full of white wine and took a sip. The meal went on mostly in silence, Atem having quietly complimented Seto's cooking and thanked him for preparing a serving for him as well. Seto's eyes calculated the scant amount of wine remaining in Atem's cup, and chose the moment while the smaller man swallowed the last sip to speak again.

"Of course, had I been trying to get you drunk, it seems it would have only been too easy."

Atem growled at his host's remark, and returned his empty glass to the countertop with a 'clink'. Seto, while holding back his bemused smirk, picked up his dishes and proceeded to clean up after his dinner.

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A/N: Ending with a lighter tone.

I apologize for the delay since the first chapter went up. I wasn't really intending to go nearly two weeks before posting the second chapter.

Anyway, I'm happy to see some familiar faces return for another story. As always I appreciate the support from everyone taking the time to read!

While watching the anime, I'd gotten this vibe of... shall we say, eagerness, from Atem when the ceremonial duel with Yugi had ended. Dude didn't even stop to wave goodbye before trying to go all afterlife on his friends. I took that a few steps further and came out with this.

Heartless Lotus, Yami E, Deck Divination, D17-pharoahfox, xHowlingWolfx, thank you for reviewing! I'm excited to see such positive response. I intend for the next segment to come out a little sooner this time, but I'm currently pouring a lot of my free time into another piece (non-romantic action/adventure – having a _lot_ of fun with it. We'll see how that one goes.), so I'm not gonna make any promises.

Til next time, happy reading!


	3. Slings And Arrows

Deck Divination, gracefulmiracle, WritersLife3, and Yami E, thank you so much for your feedback last chapter! I'm so pleased at the responses . I've had some fun writing these two in close quarters. Too bad these guys don't seem to be enjoying themselves as much... ;P

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Seto awoke to the sound of feet lightly padding across the floor down the hall. Seto had always been a light sleeper; it didn't take much to rouse him from slumber. He glanced at the digital clock glaring brightly across the room, however, and his eyebrows knitted with concern. Why had his rival been roused from his room at two am, when they had both retired only an hour ago? The washroom was in the opposite direction from where the footsteps were heading…

Seto listened to the sound of his rival descending the stairs and concluded that he could not be left to his own devices. He pulled himself off of his plush mattress to follow, moving as quietly as he could.

By the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, a light flicked on in the kitchen, and Seto heard the door of the dishwasher open. He peeked around the corner to silently observe the other man. They had both been quite satisfied after the meal they had recently; surely the former pharaoh wasn't here for a second helping.

A silver glint caught the CEO's eye and his attention heightened while he watched the other, crouched in front of the dishwasher with his back to the brunette. He had reached in and retrieved the large knife Seto had accidentally dirtied with his own blood earlier that evening. It had since been washed and now gleamed in the white light of the kitchen. Seto crept across the floor as Atem stood, arm draped over the sink. He heard the man sigh deeply and press the blade to the underside of his wrist. Before he could pull it across his porcelain skin, Seto bent down the small amount he needed to whisper slowly into the shorter man's ear.

"I don't think you really want to do that."

Atem jumped and Seto reached around to wrap his slender fingers around the wrist of the hand gripping the blade. He did so carefully, and gently pried Atem's fingers from the handle of the blade. It fell into the empty marble sink with a clatter that echoed through the still air of the quiet room. Seto retrieved the knife and set it on the countertop of the island behind himself and out of Atem's reach. He closed the door to the dishwasher with one foot and turned Atem to face him, bodies still close. Crimson eyes refused to meet cerulean, however, and Seto was left to glare at an empty, expressionless mask. The men remained this way for nearly a minute before Seto opted to speak.

"So nothing I said earlier sank in, huh?" Atem continued to stare off into the distance to one side, seeming to be intently focused on the floor some feet away. Seto's anger flared, hating the feeling of being ignored. He tried a cold approach, since nice and gentle hadn't worked for him earlier.

"You know," he started again, stepping back a foot, "I might be more inclined to quit trying to stop you if I understood your reason."

"I am not talking to you about it."

"Yes, I'd noticed that," he said sharply.

Atem flashed him an exasperated expression.

"What's the point of being so shut up if you're just going to kill yourself anyway? What do you care what I think of it all? You'll be dead." Seto finished crudely.

Atem stared at the billionaire without speaking, and the taller man stared back, not daring to break eye contact. But, after nearly a minute, Atem finally did as much. Looking down and slightly turning away, he pulled the note he'd kept on him out of the pocket of his pajamas and handed it Seto, still not looking at him.

Seto eyed him as he accepted the note. He unfolded it and his eyes quickly scanned over the words. When he finished, he refolded the paper, but didn't hand it back. Instead, he crossed his slender arms, leaned back against the island behind him and studied Atem.

"So, what I gather from this is that you're bored."

"That's a bit too simplistic of a view for it."

"Says you. But perhaps you need someone outside of the situation to give you a proper analysis."

"You're insane," Atem retorted weakly.

"Look who's talking. You're the one trying to kill yourself. Depression is considered a mental illness, you know."

Atem sighed. "You have the explanation you wanted. Now will you leave me be?"

"This isn't what I asked for. I believe I said I was trying to _understand._" He shook his head. "I can't say that I do, though."

"Whatever, Kaiba. Think what you will about me. Whether I'm alive or dead, it doesn't matter to me. The fact of the matter is that I don't care anymore. About anything, period. I'm _tired_. Is that enough for you to understand? I've fulfilled my purpose. That was all my life was destined for. I was never meant to _live_. Gods forbid I actually find a purpose for my existence and enjoy myself.." He trailed off, losing himself in crushing despair as his mind graced over what little actual "living" he had done in his life.

He had been born into royalty. From the day he was born, his life was planned out. He was constantly told what to do, and who he had to be. His childhood was filled with preparations for becoming pharaoh. When he finally did, his kingship was filled with fighting villains trying to lay waste to his land. When he wiped his own memory clean, every moment that followed was devoted to him working toward defeating the greatest evil the world had known. When the was finished, what had been left for him? He admitted to himself - and to his friends, through his actions - that he had been ready for the afterlife. Yet, here he was, alive again, and he didn't want to be. His friends had given him a new chance at life, and he didn't even know what to do with it, let alone _how _to want it.

He contemplated trying to explain this to Seto, but brushed it off. Confiding in the man would do nothing, when all he wanted anyway was to be gone. He didn't need to feel wanted, nor understood. He knew his friends wanted him alive; he knew this for certain. But how could he honestly be expected to live only for the sake of others? And as for understanding - _ha!_ There would be no other in all existence who could possibly relate to his own story. The more he thought about it, the more useless talking began to feel.

Seto, however, seemed to have a different view on this, and he spoke to break the silence that had settled over them.

"Duel me."

"Kaiba, must we do this again? Why are you so obsessed with this game?"

"As I recall, I am not the only one between us who enjoys the game of duel monsters. Why are you so convinced that one little match is going to be so painful?"

Atem narrowed his eyes at the taller in confusion. "Ar -are you suggesting I play a pointless card game with you, at…" he paused to glance at the nearest clock, "2 am, for the hell of it?"

"Why not?"

"B-Because…" The former pharaoh paused, at a loss.

"Mhm. Tell me, _your highness_," Seto mocked, "What other extravagant plans did you have this evening?"

"Well, I-"

"Aside from ending yourself, that is." He interrupted. "As long as I'm already up, I'm not willing that that be an option."

"Right." He rolled his eyes at the taller man, but let a slight smirk for on his lips. "The mess."

"I'll tell you what. If you can defeat me in this duel, I'll agree to let you leave, and I'll stay out of your business. I'll even have my driver take you back to Domino, if that's what you want."

"Kaiba, I've always defeated you." He said teasingly. "So what's the point of a wager?"

That annoyed the CEO. "Not _always_. You may have been the King of Games, but that doesn't mean you have no weaknesses." He taunted. "The point is to make it worthwhile for you to play."

"Fine." Atem gave in to the brunet's request yet again. "And if you win?"

"If I win, then we play again."

"What kind of deal is that, Kaiba? Do you _want_ to lose?"

"Not quite. I wish to play. I enjoy the game. You're a compelling opponent. Furthermore, as I said earlier, I know you enjoy it as well." With nothing more he intended to say, Seto stepped away to dig out his briefcase of duel monsters cards, returning briskly.

"Here." He said as he set the metal case on the kitchen countertop. "There's quite a substantial variety of cards here. You should have no problem building a deck with them. Mine is already prepared, but feel free to take your time." He pulled his own deck out of a pocket within the briefcase and set it up on the island where the two men had eaten dinner earlier in the night.

"So, tell me why you retired from the game if you still enjoy it so much?" Atem asked from his seat in the armchair he had taken when the men had moved the living room.

They had played three games - Seto having won the first game, and Atem taking victory in the second and third. The former pharaoh blamed his first loss on not having access to his usual cards, but Seto had silently suspected that the emotional stress he was under knocked him off his game. The man hadn't had his usual positive drive pushing him toward victory.

"I didn't officially retire. Work has grown to be quite the burden on my time, so I stopped participating in official tournaments. The public started the rumor that I'd quit the game, and it spread like wildfire. I haven't made an official statement about it either way."

"If you ever had the time, do you think you'd throw another tournament?"

"Perhaps. If I threw another tournament, do you think you'd participate?" Atem chewed on the question.

Seto was pleased at the effect the games seemed to have on the other man. They had, of course, played with their usual intensity and competitiveness - after Atem had taken some time to get into the swing of the game - but between rounds, each had made time for small talk. Seto, while usually closed off himself, had found a few buttons he could push to convince Atem to open up, even if only a little.

"No." Atem finally answered. Seto looked at him quizzically, urging him to elaborate. "It would be too complicated. Yugi is the recognized King of Games."

"That doesn't mean you couldn't play, regardless of titles. You have your own name now. And we both know you have the skills it takes to get to the top on your own ."

They had started talking about duel monsters, of course. But eventually, the bits and pieces of conversation turned to Mokuba, and Atem's friends. It had circled around to touch on Seto's work, and the CEO found a strategic way to pry at Atem's interests, outside of dueling.

He had initially listed off a few other games he was fond of playing with Yugi, but hadn't come up with much else.

After an already late night and three games of duel monsters, the sun had begun to peek through the window over the kitchen sink, illuminating a breathtaking view of the mountains outside. It was Seto who suggested migrating to the living room to wind down after their heated matches.

"Who ever said I was even interested in being at the top?" Atem had asked.

Now it was Seto's turn to stop and think, but Atem didn't give him much of a chance.

"Yugi enjoys his fame," the Egyptian continued. "I know it's always a boost to his self-esteem when a fan asks for his autograph. I couldn't take that away from him, nor am I interested in having it for myself."

"What are you interested in, then?"

"You already asked me that."

"Specifically aside from gaming, I mean. 'Saving the world' doesn't count, either."

Seto thought he was going to receive another half thought-out answer, but Atem seemed to take a minute to really think before speaking.

"Paleontology." He finally answered.

_Huh._ …_Fitting, I suppose,_ Seto thought, though he would not have suspected it himself.

"And how did you have time to figure that out, between fighting evil and winning tournaments?"

"Yugi's grandfather used to dabble with paleontology during his explorations, and despite his age, he still manages an excavation every now and then. He traveled to Egypt recently, with Yugi and a few of our friends."

"And you went with them, I gather?"

"Not quite. They returned to Domino with me in tow. It was in Egypt during that excavation that Yugi was able to uncover a ritual our friends then performed to bring me back to this world. We stuck around for a few weeks, digging. …I found that I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would."

"So, what happened since making it back to Japan that's made life so unbearable? …If you don't mind my asking," he added as an afterthought.

"Kaiba. You said you would leave me be if I defeated you in a duel, which I have. Twice, now."

"No, actually. I didn't. If I recall correctly, my exact words were 'If you can defeat me in _this_ duel…', referring to the first match. And you didn't. We didn't make any wagers after that." Seto reminded his opponent with a triumphant grin. Atem was put out, but he couldn't protest; what Seto had just said wasn't wrong, even if it had been deceptive.

"Anyway, I believe I asked you a question." Atem let out a low growl of frustration at the man's sly trick.

"Nothing happened. A _whole lot_ of nothing, in fact. There's no getting around the fact, Kaiba, no matter how you try to twist it. I have no reason left to exist. I should have lived out my life to my expected years and then died, just like everyone else on this planet. But by fate, I've been cursed to draw out my existence far longer than anyone's should be…" Seto's loud, exhausted sigh stopped the former king.

"Alright, enough of this. I've been working, literally, _all night_ to help you find something to hold on to, and apparently I have absolutely nothing to show for it." He stood suddenly and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, shoulders slightly hunched with fatigue. "I didn't sign up for this, and frankly, I'm out of energy for it. Goodnight - day… whatever." With that, he stalked out of the room, grabbing his deck from the kitchen counter on the way up to his bedroom. He didn't stop when he thought he heard Atem call his name.

When Seto reached his room, he pulled his cell phone out of the drawer in his bedside table where it had been sitting.

_I may be out of energy,_ he thought to himself as he dialed, _but I'm not out of ideas just yet._ He pressed the phone to his ear. Four long rings later and a sleepy voice came on the other end.

"Hello? Motou residence. Who's speaking?"

"Yugi? This is Kaiba."

"Kaiba? It's al…" Yugi paused to yawn, then excused himself. "It's alright. It's early."

"I know. Sorry about that," Seto replied insincerely. It had dawned on him before he dialed how early it still was, but didn't concern himself with it.

"Is everything ok?"

"Not exactly. Have you spoken to Atem recently?"

Yugi seemed to snap to attention at the mention of his friend's name. "Um… no, not recently. Actually, I haven't seen him since yesterday morning, and I'm worried about him. You wouldn't happen to know where he is?"

"I do. He's with me. He's… well, he's alive." He resisted adding a cold 'for now'.

"What does that mean? Kaiba, is he hurt?"

"Not to my knowledge. But there's certainly something off about him."

"Uh, can you be a little more specific, please?"

Seto paused as he heard footsteps at the end of the hallway, and listened for the door to the room he let Atem use to open and close. When he heard the click, he finally answered, his volume lower than before.

"Your friend won't stop talking about suicide, Yugi." Silence. "I've had to stop him twice already, since yesterday." This time Seto heard a faint mumble from the other end. "Pardon?" He asked, unable to make out what was said.

"Sorry. I… I noticed he was being… _quiet_ lately. More than usual, for him. But whenever I asked, he wouldn't tell me anything." He paused, before more quiet mumbles. "I wish we still had the puzzle to give us our mind-link…" Seto _had_ heard him this time, though he still wasn't sure he understood. He brushed it off.

"Listen, Yugi. He'll be ok with me until I make it back to Domino, but after that, helping him is your problem. I'll bring him over to your place as soon as I get back to town Sunday night. Will that work out for you?"

"Um, yeah. I think that should work fine." Yugi confirmed, after a quick pause. "You're not in Domino now?"

"I was in my limo heading out of the city for a weekend vacation when I spotted him trying to throw himself off the docks by the harbor." He thought he could practically hear Yugi cringe at the thought. "I managed to grab him just in time, and decided it might be best just to have him tag along. I'm about three hours from the city right now. I thought he could stay here until I come back on Sunday, since I might still have a shot at talking some sense into him. But if you had a better idea…?"

"Mm, not really. I'm not sure what I could really say to talk him out of it right now, so having an extra few days to think it over might be for the best. …Kaiba?" Yugi asked after a pause. "Did he tell you why?"

"He seems pretty convinced that he has nothing left to live for, or something like that. We actually had a decent talk earlier this evening, but barely an hour after going to our rooms for the night, I found him in the kitchen with my chef's knife. Maybe I'll fare better today, but I can't be positive about anything in this situation." He paused, mulling something over. "Yugi, would you say Atem's generally a light sleeper?"

Yugi was clearly thrown off by the question. "N-no, not really. I'm typically awake before he is, and he doesn't usually stir from any of the noise I'll make moving around in the mornings."

"That's good."

"Why do you ask?"

"I ask because I was hoping to go about the house and lock up whatever I can find that he might be able to use as a weapon against himself."

"That's a good idea. Thank you, Kaiba. And thank you so much for taking care of him. I really appreciate it." He sighed heavily, his voice shaking slightly when he spoke next. "Everyone's been so happy to see him again. I don't understand what went so wrong."

"Yugi…" Seto stopped to contemplate his next move. "It took a little persuasion, but I managed to get Atem to show me the suicide note he'd written to you and the rest of your friends. I never did give it back to him. Why don't you give me an email address I can reach you at and I'll send a scan of it to you. Somehow I doubt Atem will appreciate that, but one can't exactly put comfort over safety in these dealings."

"You don't have to try and convince me of that. Atem is the closest friend I've ever had. I hate the thought of him leaving everyone again, and I especially hate to know he's feeling so miserable."

"I understand. I'll do what I can to talk some sense into him, but I can't make any promises. I don't know him quite as well as you do."

"Well, if you think it would help for me to talk to him, or if you need to bring him home any sooner, Grandpa and I will be home all weekend."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Is there any other way I can help?"

"Possibly. I don't anticipate anything, but if the need _were_ to arise, you would make yourself available?"

"Of course. I'd do whatever it takes to help a friend."

_Yeah, I know. _He rolled his eyes._ I've heard all your speeches._ "There's not much else I can think of. But if something comes up, I'll let you know."

"Please do. And don't worry about the time of day - or night - either."

"I understand. I'll keep you updated."

The two exchanged goodbyes and ended the call. Seto hung up his phone with a little more resolve.


	4. Barely Holding Together

A/N: I've noticed a happy amount of favs/follows, and I have to say, I really appreciate them and I'm happy to know people are reading, and as always another thank-you to those of you who've reviewed!

* * *

After a few hours of rest and a shower, Kaiba set out to "pharaoh-proof" his vacation home while the other man slept. Kaiba had put away his kitchen knives, emptied the bathroom medicine cabinets, and removed any long cords he could find, and anything else he found lying in reach that could potentially be used as a weapon. Anything he managed to gather was thrown into his private safe, hidden in his bedroom. He had also securely blocked off access to the storage shed outside, where one would find a plethora of dangerous tools, rope, cables, blades and the like. All this had been accomplished and it was hardly noon. Kaiba hadn't slept long, but one night of missed sleep didn't bother him terribly, and he decided to find other ways to fill his time.

Atem awoke to the sound of gentle notes and a soft melody. Though the sound wasn't displeasing, his first reaction, nevertheless, was to throw the pillow over his head and sleep longer. However, despite his preference, his stomach soon made up the decision to get out of bed for him. He dug out some clean clothes from the pile he found set out for him, presumably purchased and brought in for him by the CEO's employee. It felt a bit strange to let his rival buy him clothes, but what other choice did he have, after all? He tugged on a pair of black designer jeans (which thankfully fit at the waist but he found were a bit too long and needed to be cuffed at the hem) and a dark grey v-neck shirt Atem found to be astonishingly soft against his skin.

The melodic sound that had awoken him grew louder as he exited his room, and he followed it to the living room where he spotted Seto Kaiba sitting at the piano he'd hardly noticed the night before. The sight was so… _alluring_, that Atem couldn't bring himself to do more than stand in the doorway and watch. The brunet's whole body moved along with his hands as he fell increasingly deeper into his own music. Not once did Atem see the man have to turn a page of sheet music.

Seto, though facing Atem's direction, didn't appear to notice him since he remained silent and continued to play for a few minutes, without removing his eyes from the keys he pressed. When the song had gently come to a close, he finally looked up, not appearing surprised in the slightest to see Atem standing in the doorway.

"I believe we've both missed breakfast, but lunch is in the kitchen if you're hungry." Atem found a small smile was growing across his features before he could do much about it, until he glanced into the kitchen to see the meal that was awaiting him. Seto had picked up playing a different tune, this time more somber than mellifluous.

"K-Kaiba?" Atem questioned, glancing into the kitchen from where he stood, looking confused. "Your kitchen looks a little… bare. What happened?"

"Just looking out for you, you idiot, since you can't seem to do so to save your life… literally."

"Thanks, I suppose. But you shouldn't have bothered."

"I guessed you'd feel that way, which is exactly why I had to do it."

"Whatever." The former pharaoh turned his attention toward the food that had been left out for him. As he settled in to eat his meal, a simple sandwich on wheat toast, he heard an unfamiliar electronic sound from the direction of the living room, and the music Seto had been playing abruptly stopped. Confused, and a little disappointed that the music was gone, he chose to investigate. He had to admit to himself that Kaiba played piano exceptionally well, especially for somebody who never struck him as a musician.

He ducked his head into the living room, carrying his sandwich with him, holding his plate underneath to catch any crumbs. The large screen television that hung on the far wall (which Atem suspected did nor see much use from the elder Kaiba brother), had been illuminated with a video image of the young Mokuba Kaiba. In the small corner of the screen was a video of the room Kaiba himself was in, and it dawned on Atem that, though he didn't understand a whole lot of modern technology, he could conclude that Kaiba must be participating in a video call with his younger brother. He had, after all, seen his friends make such calls on their computers in the past, and had even participated before.

Seto, having apparently heard the other's presence, gestured for him to sit down on the other end of the luxurious sofa he'd taken up.

"If you're interested in speaking with Mokuba as well, I don't mind if you eat in here. Just don't get crumbs all over the floor unless you plan to clean them up yourself."

_You have a thing against messes in general, don't you, Kaiba?_ Atem wondered idly as he approached the couch and took a seat.

"Hey Atem! Long time, no see! How've you been?" Mokuba asked enthusiastically, and Atem was already regretting the decision to join in this conversation. He decided to outright lie, hoping his rival hadn't explained to his young brother why he was even there, though he knew the elder brother would give him grief for it later. But just why should he care?

"I'm doing fine, Mokuba." He faked a smile. Why had he chosen to sit down, anyway? Was he just that disappointed that the music had stopped? Perhaps he felt that if he had a direct hand in the discussion, he could make it end sooner and maybe the man would go back to playing.

But that was nonsense. He had no logical reason to care about music. About anything.

Both of the brothers were staring at him.

"So…" Mokuba started, "You never did tell me, Seto. How come you guys are hanging out anyway? I figured you would want a weekend to yourself for a change." It seemed Seto had _not_ explained all of the rather… messy details.

However, it seemed that he _had_ caught onto Atem's little game, and decided to play along.

"It was nothing more than circumstance, little brother. He looked like he could use a vacation as well, and I suppose I must have been feeling generous at the time… or something," Seto covered for his guest, but eyed him in the process, checking to make sure the Egyptian understood the situation.

Atem finished his meal and excused himself while Seto and his brother continued to chat, mostly with Mokuba animatedly relaying the events of his trip since the brothers had last spoken. After rinsing his dish, Atem found himself staring out the window over the sink, taking in the scenery of the Japanese mountains. The heavy greenery and the bright blue sky, and the wispy mist masking the mountain bases, held his fascination for a short while, much to his own surprise. He only became aware of his awe once Seto pulled him out of it, by tapping him on the shoulder.

"Here," Seto said, offering Atem his personal cell phone, which had been ringing. "It's for you. I should let you know, while I may have covered for you with Mokuba, I felt somewhat more inclined to explain a thing or two to Yugi, considering he's much closer to the situation. So don't answer this assuming you can keep lying to everybody." Atem shot him a look before the man spun from the room. He assumed Seto had been eager to return to his brother, but to his surprise, instead of voices resuming, he returned to the piano.

Atem looked at the ringing device in his hand and contemplated not answering it. But his mind flitted to Yugi on the other end, and knew how his dear friend would likely feel if he did, especially now knowing Seto had told him the situation. Seconds before the last ring, Atem pressed the green button and placed the phone against his ear.

"Yes?" He said, his voice solemn. He didn't know exactly how he ought to face Yugi, knowing that he knew.

Yugi sighed on the other end of the line before speaking. "Atem, I'm so glad to hear you. Kaiba, um… well, he told me… everything."

"I know." he said simply. "He told me he did so." Atem was silent a moment, waiting for Yugi to speak, but it seemed that on the other end, the young duelist was doing the same. "I'm sorry, I don't know what to say for myself," he explained finally.

"Atem… I feel like, well I've always felt that I can talk to you, about anything. You're always open, and you make yourself approachable. …Do I not do that for you?" Yugi paused, but Atem was silent, so he went on. "Or is there some other reason you didn't think you could talk to me about this?"

"Yugi, it isn't you. None of this is your fault. I don't exactly know what to say other than that. I'm sorry." And what could he say? That he didn't want to tell his closest friend he was done with his life, because he knew he would try to stop him? That would sound so… _guilty_. But it was the truth, wasn't it? He only hoped Yugi could figure these things out so he wouldn't have to be the one to say it. Especially since he intended not to be around to answer any of his friend's questions.

"Look, Atem. I'm not upset with you or anything - not in the slightest. And I don't want you to feel like you're being scolded for feeling the way you do. I understand - in my own way, I guess. The part that bothers me is that you're carrying a burden you won't let me help you with. Yet you've always been there to shoulder mine. It sort of feels like, maybe you don't think I can help you."

"Yugi, I…" He sighed, pausing to think about how he could comfort the young one. "Listen. This is a little difficult over the phone. I'll be fine for the weekend. Kaiba's keeping a _very_ consistent eye on me while I'm with him, anyway. Why don't we do this over coffee on Monday?"

"I'm just worried about you. I don't want to lose my best friend again. Atem - you're family to me, I hope you know that. Are you _sure_ you're going to be ok?" He was growing tired of this already. He decided to force a little cheer into his voice to quell the younger one's worries.

"Yes, aibou. Kaiba is taking care of me. You will see me again on Sunday. Please, you have no reason to worry."

"You call me that, but is it really true anymore?"

"Is what true, Yugi?"

"You still call me aibou. But you don't act much like you want to be partners anymore." Atem found he had nothing to say to this. He knew he was being selfish. He just couldn't find it in himself to care about that. Yugi seemed to shake it off. "Never mind. If you say I'll see you Sunday, then I trust you. We can talk about this later. It's ok." Atem tried to stifle the sound of his relief.

"But before you hang up, could I talk to Kaiba for a minute?"

"Sure…" Atem reluctantly agreed, heading toward the brunet and his wafting melody. He didn't want to stop it. But Seto's eyes snapped up to the Egyptian and his hands remained hovered just above the keys he was about to play, when he walked into the room.

"Yugi wants to speak with you." He returned the man's phone. "I intend to take a walk outside… if you don't object, I guess." Kaiba covered the phone's mouthpiece with his palm.

"The tool shed has been secured for your protection, in case you get any ideas. And I _will_ be paying attention." Kaiba put the phone to his ear and waved his guest away. Atem rolled his eyes and left the building. He felt like a child.

And that wasn't helping.

Kaiba answered once Atem was out of hearing range. "Yes, Yugi?"

"Hi Kaiba. I just wanted to check up… um, hold on a sec." Yugi lowered his voice before continuing. "Can Atem hear me?"

"No. He went outside."

"Alright. I guess I wanted to say that I get the feeling Atem isn't really being completely honest with me about this whole thing. And I don't really get why - I mean, I don't think I'm coming off the wrong way, or-"

"Yugi, listen," Kaiba interjected with authority. "He _is_ lying to you. He's lying to everyone. I heard your conversation with him just now. He was just trying to get you off the phone so he didn't have to feel like you were sending him on a guilt trip. The truth is, he's not going to be fine until Sunday. Not without supervision, that is. And I'm giving him that, but I can only do so much. I do have to sleep, after all."

"What about your staff? I mean, I hate to ask, since I know it isn't their job to watch him."

"No. It's just the two of us here. Mokuba will arrive Sunday morning, but otherwise it's just me, playing babysitter."

"Oh. I didn't realize. I'm sorry, Kaiba. I wish I could take him off your hands. But I… I just don't know what to say to him yet."

"I think the seclusion may serve him better than being in the city anyway. He seems to somewhat enjoy the scenery out here. And there's much less that he could use to hurt himself with."

"You're probably right."

"Was that all? I probably ought to go check on him."

"Oh, yeah. Go ahead. And keep me updated?"

"Mmm," Seto muttered before hanging up his phone without waiting for a reply. He stationed himself at his kitchen window. He didn't have to search long before spotting Atem's spiky hair in the back yard. The man was sitting on the freshly trimmed lawn, holding his knees to his chest, staring off at the scenery he'd been peering at through the window earlier. He decided to join the man, with a few possessions in tow.

Atem didn't look up as he heard, and felt, footsteps approaching.

"I know it's a surprise, Kaiba, but I'm not actually in the middle of trying to kill myself."

"I noticed. Why is that?" Now Atem did look up at his companion, if but for a moment.

"You put everything away."

"That's your only reason?"

"Yes. Now you're just wasting my time."

"What are you in such a hurry for? It's not like you have some sort of high-class social calendar that revolves around the event of your death. Is breathing really _that_ agonizing?"

"We've been through this. You don't understand. You made that clear."

"I thought I'd made it clear that perhaps I may be interested in doing so, though. That doesn't count for anything?" Atem looked at the brunet again, now that he had joined him on the grass. But his eyes were drawn to the ground in front of Seto instead.

"What's that?"

"Don't tell me, you don't know a chess board when you see it?"

"I'm not very familiar with the game." He glanced at the other's face. "But I know what the board is. I'm just wondering why you're carrying one."

"It seems I need to remind you again that I'm on vacation."

"Your point?"

"Believe it or not, but I do actually like to take it easy once in a while. Since I'm not here all by myself like I'd planned I figured I might take advantage of the situation. Would it be too much of a burden on your poor tired heart for you to join me in a game of chess? I like to keep my skills sharp, and I trust you to be a worthy opponent to test them against." Atem glanced sideways at the board on the grass but didn't respond.

"Perhaps it may be added incentive for you to know I'm currently the titleholder for World Chess Champion."

"Really." He didn't seem highly interested, but Seto set up the board anyway.

"I won the title when I was ten years old, and I've defended it ever since."

"It must not be a very challenging game for you to succeed at it at such a young age."

Seto glared. "Don't insult me. I've always had very high intelligence."

Atem still had nothing to say.

"Do you know the rules?"

"You're assuming I've already agreed to join you, when I've hardly said a word."

"Besting me means nothing to you anymore." It may have been meant as a question, but Atem's continued silence proved the statement to himself. He stopped putting the pieces on the board when he was only halfway through.


	5. It Just Won't Heal

"I've wanted to kill myself before." Seto said quietly. He immediately felt Atem's eyes on him. "I told you about it once before, actually. Not directly, but you were there."

"I don't recall," Atem answered dismissively.

"It doesn't matter. Just know that you're not the only one in the world who's ever suffered." Atem stared silently at his feet a long time before speaking.

"What happened?"

"I doubt you really care so why should I elaborate?" Atem shot the man a look of sheer annoyance. "What? You're the only one who gets to be an ass about your indifference to everything? Seems a little unfairly selfish if you ask me."

"But I didn't ask you. You obviously came out here to lecture me some more, so I decided to go along with it to avoid another argument."

"I see you've really got this down to a science these days. You have been sounding a lot like me lately. And as egotistical as I may present myself, don't mistake that for a compliment. My personality doesn't suit you."

"Just get on with it."

"There's not that much to tell. My stepfather worked me too hard. Back then, too much work running on too little sleep and nourishment was enough to drive me into a deep depression." He scowled. "…Now it's nothing more than habit," he added quietly.

"How did you come out of it?"

"Mokuba pulled me through. I couldn't leave the kid behind. His presence forced me to be strong for him." Atem rolled his eyes at the answer.

"You can pretend you don't care about anything but dying all you want. But I've known you long enough to understand full well that isn't entirely true. I've seen the way you fight for your friends. You've held such conviction; it's impressive, really. It used to remind me of myself. I'd do anything for my little brother. I want him to have everything in life. But I knew how much he looked up to me, and I was all he had. So how could he have everything if I took away everything _with_ my life? I wasn't so foolish to believe my actions didn't affect him, no matter how much I might've wanted it to be that way. I suppose all I'm saying is that I know what it feels like to be where you are, feeling like there's no point in tomorrow… or even now. It is difficult. But once you get through it - and I know this is corny - you remember what it feels like to have hope." Atem looked at the brunet, but couldn't help himself from laughing.

"You're right, that does sound corny."

"Shut it," Seto snapped, but found himself gently laughing along. "Now I'm the one who's starting to sound like _you_. Or how you used to talk, anyway."

"How old were you?" Atem asked, his seriousness returned.

"Mm. I was young. Thirteen, I think."

"So that's all. And you're just over it?"

Seto sighed. "No. I'm not. It has been a battle. There have been a few times, even since you've known me, that I've come close to going back to that... sensation."

"Really?"

Seto nodded. "Yes. For all I know, it may come upon me in the future as well. But if I know one thing for certain, it's that I will never give in to that urge, so long as I still have my brother to support me."

"And he really gets you that far?"

"You, of _all_ people, can't tell me you don't know what that feels like."

"…I can remember feeling that way. Before my friends brought me back here."

"Would you ever want that back? If you thought you could have it, that is."

Atem was silent a long time before he answered.

"I think so," he whispered. "This doesn't feel good."

"Of course not."

"I suppose, _if_ there was another way… to make this stop…" Now Seto was silent.

He slipped his cell phone out of his pocket and checked the time.

"I'm going in to start dinner."

The change of subjects seemed to be jarring for Atem, who could respond in no way other than to nod and clamber to his feet as his host stood. He silently followed Seto back into the cabin.

* * *

"Can I help?" Atem asked once the two men reached the kitchen.

"If you please, but I wasn't asking you to."

"I'm not expecting you to wait on me while I'm here. If you're going to prepare a meal, I ought to assist."

"Who said I was making any for you?" Seto smirked at Atem and handed him a sauté pan. "Add two tablespoons of olive oil to this and set it to heat on the range. Don't let the oil begin to smoke." Atem nodded and set to work, and Seto treaded up the stairs to retrieve the block of kitchen knives from his bedroom safe. When he returned he set the block back in its proper place and began rummaging through the refrigerator.

Atem eyed the returned items, but looked away once Seto pulled his head out of his large appliance. "So that's where you'd been keeping them." Atem noted, with his eyes glued to the pan in front of himself, as though he had commented on the weather.

"Don't get any ideas. You won't be able to get to them just because you know they've been in my bedroom."

"I was just surprised they were here at all," Atem commented defensively. "I assumed you'd had an employee stop by sometime during the early morning and take everything away."

"I'd thought about it. But it's a little difficult to get delivery this far into the mountains, and we _do_ still have to eat this weekend. Difficult to do that without proper cookware." He opened a package of vegetables and set to washing the contents off in the sink.

"I'm not one for delivery anyway."

"Neither am I. For tonight, I've decided on sushi and vegetables. Does that suit you?" Atem nodded. "I admit I don't know much of Egyptian cuisine."

Atem sighed coldly. "Honestly Kaiba, neither do I. I don't remember much of that culture anymore."

"I'm guessing you've had plenty of time to grow accustomed to Asian cuisine then." Atem nodded again. Seto turned to the island juggling the colander of vegetables and a knife as he slid a built-in cutting board out of the island cabinetry.

"You look like you've got your hands full, Kaiba. How else can I help?" The CEO began slicing the vegetables, carefully, as he eyed the package of fish sitting covered on the counter near him.

"Do you know how to prepare sushi?" Atem shook his head. Seto sighed and looked around for another job he could give the man to help with the meal, but found none. "The oil is heated in the pan?" Atem confirmed the pot held a steady rolling boil. Seto turned back to the knife block and pulled out the smallest blade still suitable for his current job. He held it tightly in one hand and eyed the other man. "Can I trust you with this for five minutes? I'd like to have you slice the vegetables so I can prepare the fish."

"I can handle it, Kaiba." Atem managed to answered without appearing too eager, so Seto held the blade out to the man.

"I've got my eye on you." he warned. "Ever when you might think I don't." Atem chuckled quietly as he set to work. The two men prepared their meal quietly for the next several minutes.

"Kaiba?" Atem questioned as he poured the vegetables into the boiling water. "I've been growing curious. Why _are_ you so concerned about me?" Seto was a long time in answering, yet despite taking his sweet time, he still found he had little to say. He doubted he understood the answer himself.

"I'm not certain how to answer that." When Atem did nothing but continue to watch the brunet, he elaborated as best he could. "I suppose… that there's just something about seeing you this way that really pisses me off."

Atem appeared surprised by this. "You haven't come off as angry on very many occasions this weekend."

"Then I'll take that as a sign that I'm getting more efficient at concealing my reactions. It's an important asset in my field of work," Seto dodged the discussion, and Atem decided to let it go. Both men heard a faint electronic beeping from the direction of the sitting room.

"Damn your timing, Mokuba," Seto cursed quietly. He paused in preparing the sushi and turned to Atem. "That's my brother calling in for a video chat, and I intend to answer it. Behave yourself for eight seconds." He stalked out of the room quickly enough that he missed the grin forming on his rival's face.

"Sorry to bother you, Seto." Mokuba said when Seto answered the call. "But some of the kids had to go home early and I wanted to keep you updated."

"Why? Did a problem arise?"

"Nope. No one's hurt or sick or anything like that. All the kids that are leaving share a class the rest of us don't have, and I guess there's some project due on Monday or whatever. Anyway, Isono said I should let you know."

"Over video chat?"

"I tried to call your phone but you didn't answer." Seto pulled the phone from his pocket and noted that he must've slipped it into silent mode at some point. An icon on the top of the screen showed two missed calls from the boy.

"Whatever. Was that all? I'm in the middle of preparing dinner."

"Yep. I'll let you get back to that."

"Enjoy the rest of your evening, little brother, and I'll see you in the morning."

"See you tomorrow, bro!" Seto clicked off the display and rushed back to the kitchen to see Atem still obediently slicing the vegetables, just where the executive had left him. Upon seeing this, a sensation washed over Seto that he wasn't fully able to put a name to. He'd felt similarly in the moment he first realized the figure walking alongside his limousine wasn't actually Yugi Motou, but the ancient pharaoh. Even without putting a specific name to the feeling, Seto was beginning to piece together just _why_ he was getting so wrapped up in all of this.

He brushed his thoughts aside and returned to his post. Before very long, the two men had prepared a full dinner, and sat down to eat it together. Seto served another helping of the fine wine he had in house, and after some time the smaller of the two could feel the liquid bubbling into his head.

"I have to ask, Kaiba," he slurred ever so slightly before finishing the last sip of his second glass of wine. "It really seems like you _are_ trying to get me drunk this time."

Seto watched on with amusement lighting his eyes. "I fail to see a question in that."

"Are you?" He set his glass down a little less gently than he'd intended.

"Perhaps. Your intoxication is amusing. It would seem you can't hold your wine very well."

Atem put a hand to his head to steady his dizziness. "No… It would seem not." He chuckled. "For what reason would you wish this unsteadiness on me, old friend?"

"Because I would love to watch you fall on your ass," Seto stated boldly, but Atem just laughed more. "Here, have a refill."

"Are you under the impression you'll get me to talk easier if you loosen my tongue with this?" Atem raised his glass in question.

Seto shook his head. "Wine doesn't keep as long once you open the bottle, and I probably won't be back here again soon enough to finish it. At three hundred dollars a bottle, someone might as well enjoy it. Since you're already tipsy, what's a little more?" Seto topped off his own glass and sipped slowly.

Some time slipped by and Atem furrowed his brow. "What did Yugi wish to speak with you about?"

Seto waved. "Nothing of much importance. He merely wanted to find out how well I'm managing to babysit you."

Atem grimaced, his mood suddenly soured.

"I'm not at all shocked," Seto said, "that you don't want to accept any kind of interference from me. But I am a little surprised you're fighting help from your own friends so adamantly."

"It would be best if Yugi allowed himself to let me go. I wish he wouldn't concern himself this way. …He doesn't need me anymore."

"It didn't seem that way at my last tournament," Seto said.

"Your last…? The Grand Prix? What has that to do with anything?"

"Grand Prix? No. Didn't Yugi ever tell you what happened last year at KaibaLand?"

"I don't know what you're referring to."

"So he didn't tell you everything." Atem shook his head but his eyes were locked onto the CEO's face, waiting for an explanation.

"Never mind. It isn't my story to tell." Seto continued to look away, but he could tell he'd piqued the former pharaoh's interest.

"You're saying there's something Yugi hasn't told me? I can't think of a reason why he would do that. He has always come to me with everything. Kaiba, if there is something that you know about my friend, you must tell me."

"Since when do you care about anything but yourself?" Seto challenged.

"I care a great deal about my friends, Kaiba. Yugi especially; he is very dear to me. But that does not make me feel obligated to be tied to this place." _Parting again is a bittersweet sorrow I would be willing to embrace_, Atem thought coldly. He doubted his host would be anything less than annoyed at his dramatic way of words, and said nothing more but stared evenly at the man, waiting for an answer.

The CEO sighed. "Fine. About a year ago, Mokuba and I were back in Domino on business, since we'd taken off to America straight from Egypt, after your duel with Yugi."

"Alright?" Atem urged.

"While I was there, my brother roped me into throwing a local tournament. While I did not participate personally, your friends did show as expected, and Yugi was in the leading position.

"I can't say I find myself surprised," Atem _almost_ smiled.

"Then," Seto went on, "in the middle of it, some punks showed up and took the tournament in a different direction."

Atem's eyes narrowed. "What does that mean? What happened?"

"Essentially, Yugi was forced to duel for his own safety, and that of everyone else involved. Spoken in the words of your little fan club, there wasn't 'magic' incorporated. But there was certainly a force of persuasion. I understand that situation is something he's had a few prior experiences with, but I have to say, I was surprised he made it through that time. The kid damn near buckled under the pressure."

"No…" Atem struggled with the imagery. "Yugi's strong. He's been through worse."

"Not as strong as you think, it would seem. He's got some sort of confidence; perhaps it's a little too easy to overestimate people like that."

Atem stared silently at his empty plate.

"The purpose," Atem started after a few minutes of silent contemplation, "for Yugi and I to have been drawn together through our puzzle was to learn from one another. From him, I was to learn compassion. From me, he was to learn strength. The fact that he was able to defeat me in our duel was supposed to mean that he was ready to go on without my guidance."

"I didn't say the kid isn't strong. Just not so much as when you're fighting his battles, apparently," Seto said dismissively. He waved the discussion away. "Sorry to bring it up. Something you said earlier reminded me. I'd just assumed you already knew."

Atem closed his eyes. The fogginess that had been forming in his mind was clouding his thoughts. The Egyptian could tell he wasn't properly absorbing the entirety of the conversation, and that unsettled him. He said nothing on this, however, but stood from his seat and carried away his dishes and placed them into the sink behind him.

"I would like to say I have a response, but I find I am unable to fully process this in my current state. You'll have to forgive me."

"It really wasn't a big deal. Forget I said anything. Yugi probably didn't mention it because it didn't matter."

Atem shook his head, putting a hand to his forehead. "I think I'll retire for the evening," he said suddenly. "And I do believe I'll have water at tomorrow's evening meal," he added quietly.

"Whatever suits you," Seto mumbled with disinterest. Atem walked away, not without stumbling slightly, up to his temporary bedroom without another word to his host.

* * *

A/N: The scene in the beginning of this refers to a flashback in one of the episodes in which Seto is dueling his step-brother Noa, who's using poor little brainwashed Mokuba as a meat shield. I don't recall the exact episode, but I'm guessing you all know which one I'm talking about. Yeah, with the crayon-drawn Blue Eyes card that just about makes a person's heart melt…

Anyhow, as always I must offer my unending appreciation for the support I'm receiving from everyone out there, reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting. There wouldn't be much of a reason for me to keep writing without an audience.

There's a reference to a bit in this chapter that's probably not well understood right now. That will pass. Perhaps not in the next update. Bear with me, please.

I hadn't meant to take so long to get this out. There's always something. Til next time, guys! Thanks for reading. :)

~omgagr


	6. The Day Reminds Me Of You

A/N: Just a note for anyone whom I might have confused, in the end of chapter four, Seto is beginning to prepare a chess board for the two of them to play. However, while I would enjoy writing a chess match between these two, the game isn't actually played in this story. Atem's clear disinterest stops Seto from even putting the rest of the pieces on the board, and the match never happens. Chapter five picks up immediately after chapter four ended (or there-about). I apologize if this was not clear enough. Chapter six picks up on Sunday morning of our boys' vacation.

* * *

"Nii-sama, I'm here!" Mokuba called from the front room as he let himself in the door. The sound of an automobile pulling away outside the building was heard over the peaceful quiet of the mountains.

"In the kitchen, Mokuba," Seto called from where he was eating breakfast on the countertop, and Mokuba quickly stepped in to greet his older brother. "Good to see you, kid. Did you enjoy your weekend? I see you've gotten yourself a bit of a tan." Mokuba nodded, then grinned.

"So, guess what, nii-sama?"

"The beach house burned down," Seto guessed.

Mokuba shook his head. "Nope. Thankfully not. That's my favorite vacation home."

"Hmm. You've decided to take over KaibaCorp so I can retire at twenty-two."

"Not even close. You wouldn't let me anyway."

"No. And I have little interest in guessing games, so what is it?"

Mokuba pulled up a seat across from his brother and propped his elbows up on the countertop. A light rosy tint crossed his tanned cheeks. "I kissed someone."

Kaiba finished his bite of food and set his utensil down before flashing his little brother a congratulatory grin. "Well, then. What's this girl's name?"

"Uh... You kind of already know her."

"Do I?"

"Yeah. I heard she was in the area so… I invited her. To the beach house."

"And? That doesn't answer my question."

"Rebecca…" The tint on his cheek grew a shade darker.

"Not… _H__op__kins_? The girl who attended our Grand Prix tournament?" Mokuba nodded. "I didn't realize you liked her."

"Well… yeah." Mokuba said, as though it should be obvious. "She's really smart, and a lot of fun. She's a great duelist, too."

"I recall that she had some skill," Seto agreed. He considered this for a moment. "I think she's a decent fit for you. Have you decided to pursue a relationship?"

Mokuba wrinkled his nose. "Seto, you always have such a strange way of phrasing things. You make it sound so lame. We're not in nineteenth century England, and I'm not "courting" her," Mokuba flashed air quotes with his fingers while he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I do want to ask her out. I'm... Just not sure how we could make it work."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the distance. She lives in America most of the year."

Seto sighed. "Mokuba, need I remind you, we're rich? We own a fleet of aircraft. You'll find some way to make it work if you want it bad enough."

"So you're ok with it? With me dating her?"

"So long as she makes you happy, little brother." Mokuba smiled and Seto ruffled his already messy hair, just as Atem came down the stairs.

"Hey. She wouldn't happen to be the reason you wanted to throw your little party, is she?"

"Uh… maybe?" His fading blush deepened again.

"Good morning," Mokuba greeted cheerfully, happy for the distraction. Atem regarded the brothers with a nod and began to rummage through the refrigerator.

"Did I miss something?" Atem asked, though his tone indicated he was less than interested.

"My baby brother's growing up," Seto teased.

"Seto! Don't say it like _that_. It's just that… I think I might like to ask Rebecca Hopkins out. On a date."

"Rebecca, hmm? Cute. But are you two even old enough to date?" Atem asked. Mokuba snarled, but Seto smirked at the question.

* * *

The Kaiba brothers spent the last day of their weekend together playing various games, with Seto mostly bending to his younger brother's whims. Atem joined in when he felt up to the task of faking his enthusiasm, though most often he opted to spend his time alone, often outside with a view of the scenery. While he no longer sought out battling against the man, games against Seto Kaiba _could_ hold his interest, as he'd recently re-discovered. But the idea of joining in, or even watching, when the younger brother was involved, Atem found incredibly dull.

Mokuba, feeling more adult than his brother often gave him credit for, was allowed a small sampling of wine with dinner that night, but had liked the taste enough that a small sample quickly turned into a glass and a half.

The three gathered together in the sitting room after eating dinner. Mokuba made the request that his brother play music for the two of them on the piano, not knowing that he'd been playing for a good part of the day before. But after a full day of playing games with his sibling and more wine than a teen his age should have, left him weary. He threw himself across the sofa and drifted off to the gentle notes played by his older brother's skilled hands.

Seto glanced over his shoulder to see that his brother had fallen asleep listening to him play. His form lay limp on the couch, one arm draped over the side. In between notes he could hear the boy's breathing grow deeper. He smiled gently to himself. Atem, he could see from the corner of his eye, was sitting in the armchair sideways, his feet hanging over one armrest and his back against the other, facing away from Seto.

"You play beautifully, you know." Atem said as his song came to an end. Seto responded by playing through the ending straight into another piece, this time with a more powerful sound. "How long have you been playing?"

"Since I was a child."

"Where did you learn?" He though to himself, he couldn't be surprised if the man had taught himself.

"My stepbrother was a prodigy when it came to music. I hear he was quite a masterful violinist, especially. I suppose my stepfather must have expected me to pick up where his son left off when he died. He gave me tutors and made me learn how to do everything worthwhile that the brat was good at." He played on for a minute before finishing his thought, smirking to himself. "And I learned to do it all better than he could."

"Why am I not terribly surprised? You play strings as well, then?"

"I strongly prefer piano over the violin, personally. Once I fulfilled Gozaburo's expectations, I put the violin down. It only suited me while I was a child, anyhow."

"So, tell me then… is there anything you _can't_ do?" He wore a small smile that Seto couldn't see.

"Hell no. I'm a god," Seto answered with no hint of playfulness seeping into his voice, which made Atem chuckle. He slid back in his seat until his head rested on the armrest and he was staring at the ceiling.

"Somehow I'm not surprised you'd say that."

"That's because you know it's true."

"Mmm. If you say so." He smiled at the light tone the conversation had taken. "I think I could go for a little more wine," he muttered quietly, trying not to make it sound like a request.

"Help yourself. I trust you've seen where the wine rack is stored? I could go for a bit more myself." It was a statement Seto assumed would be interpreted as a request. Atem said nothing as he retrieved Seto's wine glass as well as his own off the low table in the center of the room and walked to the kitchen. A few minutes flew by and Seto prepared to transition into another piece when he noticed the other man still hadn't returned from the kitchen, and stood to check on him instead.

Adrenaline seized his motions when he stepped through the doorway to find Atem standing against the counter, his refilled glass of wine in one hand and a knife in the other. He held it close to his face, seeming to examine the shimmering blade.

"You don't need to try to sneak up on me, Kaiba; I know you're there." He spied the brunet with one eye through the reflection of the blade before returning the knife to the wooden block and turning to face the CEO who, in that time, had crossed the room.

"And that wasn't what it looked like. I was inspecting to see if the blade was clean or not. It had been left out on the counter, and I didn't know if it ought to be washed." Atem spoke smoothly, no trace of defensiveness in his voice. He took a sip of his glass and held a second out to Seto, who accepted.

"Then what took you so long in here?" Seto asked skeptically.

"I couldn't decide which wine to pour." He gestured to the uncorked bottle. "We've already sampled a dry wine with our meal. I thought we ought to taste something sweeter for after dinner, so I poured us a glass of the chenin blanc from the other night." He took another drink of his wine.

Seto sighed. His nerves had begun to calm and he felt his heart rate slow. He said nothing, but an expression of worry creased his brow. He leaned his back against the counter Atem was pressed up against, and the men stood together for a minute, sampling their drinks.

"Why?" Atem asked after some time had passed. Seto looked at the man, blinking in confusion. By then, the question seemed out of place. "Why do you worry?" He clarified. Atem kept his eyes trained straight ahead even though he could feel the CEO was looking down at him.

_Because you matter to me_, Seto answered.

He wanted to say it out loud… and yet he didn't want to. He resolved that the words needed to be conveyed, but he suddenly realized he couldn't find his voice. A weight began to bear down on the CEO, and as accustomed to stress as he was, he didn't know how to handle situations like these very well. Situations where something needed to be done, but that something would force him to show his weakness. But the pharaoh's life might depend on hearing those words; on learning that he mattered.

Seto's voice didn't work. He tried to push through the lump in his throat keeping him silent, and his lips moved slightly, but nothing came out. He squeezed his fingers against the stem of his glass.

Atem was looking up at him now. At least his lips still worked. He turned his body to face the other. In a moment of hesitation, and as a chance to gather his breath, he set his glass down on the counter, his eyes locking onto the object. This action was a distraction, however; a ploy his mind had used in defense to make himself stop and question. He brushed that question away and forced himself to meet the eyes awaiting his answer.

The silence was stretching on too far, but he no longer wanted to break it with his words. Brows knitted in question above crimson colored eyes. Seto closed his own, briefly.

_Because you matter to me_, he repeated to himself, turning as he snaked one hand around to rest on the countertop behind his rival, pinning him with his hips against the cabinetry. Without allowing for a moment of protest, Seto closed his eyes once more while he leaned down to catch Atem's lips with his own.

He kissed once, softly, and let his lips linger on the other's mouth. He kissed again, twice, three times. Atem's hands rose from his own sides to rest on Seto's hips. The brunet wrapped his fingers of one hand in Atem's hair and placed his other in the small of the Egyptian's back, using it to pull the small man closer to him.

Seto's eyes eased open but he didn't pull away. Atem's remained closed, and he kissed the man once more.

"Does that answer your question?" He whispered gently. His breath was a ghost against the pharaoh's lips, which pulled into a sweet grin in response, and his eyes slid open slowly as if he were in a daze. He looked up at the taller man through dark eyelashes.

Atem had never allowed himself to dwell heavily on matters of his own carnal heart. He remembered that, as royalty in his time in Egypt, he was betrothed, through no say of his own. Yet another aspect of his life he'd had no control over. He hadn't given much thought to what kind of person would fill for him the void that people around often spoke of having, but he had known for some time that his dear friend Anzu, who had been practically throwing herself at him for as long as he could remember, wasn't it.

And looking at _him_ now - not that this was the first time he'd noticed - he knew Seto was a strikingly handsome man. His porcelain skin, his chestnut hair, and those dazzling cerulean eyes with the power to either chill or pierce, made Atem want to shiver, even now.

With the hanging silence stretching on, and crimson eyes boring into his, Seto couldn't resist giving the small Egyptian another kiss. Atem parted his lips this time, and Seto eagerly accepted the invitation.

The moment his own breathing became labored, Seto broke the kiss and pulled his body away. Atem's eyes snapped open in confusion. He immediately missed the warmth.

"I wasn't intending to start something now," Seto felt the need to explain. Atem took a second to study the man's expression, and quickly grew angry.

"You weren't intending to _start anything_? What does _that_ mean? You're only looking for a way to anchor me here, because you think I'm going to just let myself become tied to you, without reciprocation?" His face flushed red, but Seto pushed him back into the countertop behind him and stopped his next words with another kiss, rougher this time.

"Shut up," Seto commanded, but his tone was gentle. He wrapped a hand around the side of the Egyptian's neck, petting it affectionately with his thumb. "I was talking about tonight. I have to get back to work in the morning. I don't need such a distraction looming over me early on a Monday…" He planted a light peck on Atem's forehead. The smaller man opened his mouth to reply but he snapped it shut immediately and his eyes darted to the doorway. Seto's gaze followed to see his brother, groggy eyed and wobbly, pull himself from the couch and stretch.

"_You matter to me_," Seto managed to whisper against Atem's ear and pulled away before his brother turned to catch the two men in their positions. Atem immediately wanted to pull him back for another kiss. Never before had he felt such a pull toward another person as he felt toward Seto now. It was an intense draw, stronger than he had felt toward anything since the moment he was pulled back into the world by his group of friends weeks ago.

Mokuba appeared in the doorway. "Nii-sama?" He asked in a quiet voice. "Are we going home soon? It's getting late." The tired boy rubbed at his eyes. Seto quickly emptied his glass of wine and placed it inside the dishwasher.

"Yes, Mokuba. We'll be going soon. Gather your things." The boy nodded and stumbled off to pick up the few games and other possessions he'd brought with him. When Seto turned back to Atem, he was all business once again. The tender moment had come and, though Atem hadn't wanted to let it slip through his fingers, it was clearly gone now.

"It will be approximately three hours once we leave before we reach Yugi's home. I'm going to pack my things, then I'll call to let him know we'll be leaving shortly."

Atem's gaze had sunk to the floor. "You don't… _have_ to drop me off… I think I might like to stay with you for one more night." His eyes on the tiled kitchen floor, he didn't notice Seto move silently to his side until his lips rested on the back of his neck.

"I can't. I work in the morning. I need my rest." His breath along the sensitive skin on the pharaoh's neck made the man shiver, but he smiled at the feeling.

"Is that your only excuse?" Seto nodded silently and trailed more kisses down his neck and across his shoulder. He pulled the t-shirt Atem wore back, the clothing he'd bought, back an inch to place a single kiss on the concealed skin, then pulled himself away completely again. His action earned a frustrated growl from the Egyptian. Seto looked back and smirked.

"You ought to finish your wine," he suggested, and left the room before Atem could respond.

* * *

The ride away from the cabin was quiet. The three passengers sat in the back seat, with Seto in the middle between Mokuba and Atem. The brothers held quiet, idle conversation for over half of the journey while Atem remained quiet, watching the scenery fly by as best he could outside his tinted window.

Nearly two hours into the trip when the car had fallen silent, Seto leaned over to whisper in Atem's ear. The unexpected contact made him jump and Seto tried to calm him by placing a hand on his forearm.

"I think he's fallen asleep again." Seto whispered. Atem glanced toward Mokuba, whose head hung forward and rested on the side window of the limousine. It was difficult for him to see Seto's face now that the sun had set, but he thought he saw his thin lips curled into a light smile. Atem immediately claimed them in a fierce kiss, but Seto calmly pushed him off, fighting off laughter while he tried to remain as quiet as possible.

"_Calm down_," Seto urged. He kissed the Egyptian once, gently, to pacify him, and wrapped an arm around his shoulder to pull him close. Atem let his head fall onto the billionaire's shoulder and he closed his eyes, breathing in his expensive cologne.

"It feels strange, to feel this way," he whispered into Seto's shoulder.

"In what way are you speaking of?"

"Looking forward… to tomorrow." Seto didn't let himself show his smile, but he could feel himself light up inside at hearing those words. He pulled Atem's hand into his lap and wrapped his own slender fingers around it.

Seto abandoned the conversation for a moment of thought. "So..." He started finally, but didn't say more.

"Hmm?"

"What's your opinion on the day _after_ tomorrow?" Seto asked carefully. Atem considered for a stretch of time just long enough to make Seto uncomfortable. He squeezed Atem's shoulder affectionately with the hand he had wrapped around him, hoping to encourage a response.

"I guess that depends," he answered finally.

"On what?"

"Will I get to see you then?"

"Will it kill you if you don't?"

"It might…" Atem warned, but without a hint of seriousness in his tone. He nuzzled his face into the nook of Seto's neck, gracing it with light kisses.

"Then I guess I have little choice, hmm?" Atem responded by pressing deeper into Seto's warm body. The two fell silent for most of the remaining trip.

* * *

"When we arrive, I'll walk you in." Seto said when the car was nearly ten minutes away from the Kame Game Shop. "I'd like to speak with Yugi anyway."

Atem rolled his eyes but faced away from Seto, so he didn't see. When he spoke, his tone was sharp. "One reason why I wasn't looking forward to coming back tonight was just that." Seto flashed him a look of confusion.

"What's the problem?"

Atem turned back to face Seto. "I had a nice day. That doesn't happen to me very often as of late. I don't want you and Yugi to ruin that by sitting me down for an intervention the minute I get home. And if he and I _don't_ sit down to talk about this, I'll still know he has things he wants to say to me. …I'll feel like he's judging me."

"Then I don't see how not taking you straight home is going to fix that. If you stay with me for the night, you'll still have neglected to discuss your situation, so Yugi will just go on thinking whatever he does about all this anyway. You would accomplish nothing but delaying the conversation."

"But at least I'll have had one more night with you…" Atem muttered.

"Stop trying to run away from your problems," Seto said in a harsh commanding tone. His voice had come out louder than he'd intended, and Mokuba stirred against the car door. He glanced over at his brother and composed himself, lowering his voice again to just above a whisper. "Listen. I tried to do the same thing years ago. You saw for yourself just how well that worked for me. You know you need to speak with him, so just get it over with and you'll feel better. Sleep it off…" He took a breath, "then come have lunch with me at one."

"I… what?" He laughed, confused by the sudden shift of topics. "You want me to have lunch with you."

Seto nodded. "Come by my office, and I'll take you out." Atem grinned and fell back into his chest again. "By the way, if it eases your mind any, I wasn't intending to be any part of an intervention."

"Then why do you and Yugi seem to feel such a need to discuss my situation away from my range of hearing? It makes me feel like some sort of helpless child."

"You are." When Atem looked up at him with sharp eyes, Seto stared back. "Really, Atem. You've been behaving like a deviant little toddler this weekend. Once I understood how serious, and how desperate, you felt, I didn't feel comfortable to leave you alone for even a minute. You'd find some way to hurt yourself irreconcilably before I had a chance to intervene."

"So that makes it alright for you and Yugi to play mommy and daddy?" He scowled.

"If that's the way you're interpreting this, then I'm sorry you're not comfortable in the situation _you_ created. We're just trying to take care of you, and to do that we have to coordinate our methods. You have to understand that for the people around you who _don't_ want you to die, your safety trumps your comfort. I don't like that that seems to mean having a complete disregard for your comfort - I am sorry for that. It probably hasn't made this any easier on you. But what else could be done? You couldn't be left alone." Atem sighed and slumped into the back of his seat, away from Seto, but he didn't pull away when Seto took his hand.

"I understand. I don't like it, but I get it." Atem stated. Seto pressed his lips to Atem's temple, and he gave a content sigh.

"It's going to be alright," he whispered in the smaller duelist's ear. "I'll see to it. Just… take it one day at a time."

"Kaiba? Let me tell Yugi about… this." He gestured between the two of them. "Whatever this is," he smiled.

"This is whatever you want it be, beautiful." Seto reached out to flick a lock of blond bangs out of Atem's face with the backs of his fingers. "So long as you understand that you're important to me."


	7. I Choose To Fight

"_Kaiba…? Let me tell Yugi about… this." He gestured between the two of them. "Whatever this is," he smiled._

"_This is whatever you want it be, beautiful." Seto reached out to flick a lock of blond bangs out of Atem's face with the backs of his fingers. "So long as you understand that you're important to me."_

Atem brushed Seto's hand away and growled. "Just don't call me 'beautiful'. I'm not a woman; it doesn't suit me."

"I agree," Seto smirked, "but the look on your face was worth it. Admit it - after all these years, I still know how to get under your skin."

"Just remember," Atem said quietly as the limousine pulled up beside the Kame Game shop, "how suddenly you've known me to turn the tables to my favor."

Seto smirked and sat up, preparing to leave the car with Atem. The two men exited the car together, leaving Mokuba behind to continue his nap.

Atem turned toward the shop, only to get nearly plowed over by his even smaller friend. Yugi wrapped his arms tightly around Atem's chest and buried his face in the man's shoulder. Seto fought back a surge of jealousy at the sight.

"Yami, you're ok," Yugi all but sobbed. "Gods, I was so worried about you." Atem returned his friend's hug lightly, gently rubbing his back.

"It's alright Yugi. I'm still here," he said quietly.

"Might I suggest we go in for a minute?" Seto said from behind the two after allowing them a few moments. Yugi pulled himself off of Atem and nodded while wiping tears from the edges of his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket, and the three entered the shop. Yugi led the way to the living room in his home, where Atem was surprised to see all of his closest friends had gathered, even so late on a Sunday. He was flattered to see so much care directed his way, but at the same time so much fussing on his account made him uncomfortable.

Atem was most surprised to see Anzu seated in one of the two armchairs, since she had been in America, the last he knew. Jounouchi and Honda, who had remained in Domino, had been seated on the sofa, and stood when the three men entered the room. Sugoroku, Yugi's grandfather, was not to be seen. Atem assumed the night was too late for him. He was relieved, at least, for that.

Everyone in the room greeted him with hugs or handshakes before returning to their seats. Anzu had tears in her eyes. Jounouchi, after giving Atem his cheerful welcome and a hearty slap on the back, bypassed him and directed his attention to Seto, who stood off to one side behind Atem.

"Hey moneybags." He offered his hand out to Seto who quirked an eyebrow, but shook it anyway. "Thanks a lot for lookin' out for our pal. We really owe you one, man."

"It was no burden. Yugi," he dismissed Jou and nodded to Yugi to meet in another room. Yugi led him back out to the shop. He spoke quietly. "Don't press the issue too much tonight. A lot has happened in the last few days, and the situation has changed. Don't make him feel like he's on trial."

Yugi nodded in agreement. "Alright. But what happened over there to make such a difference?"

"That's not my place to say. He'll tell you when he sees fit. I ought to take my leave, but call me if there's ever a problem. I would be willing to step in and offer a hand if he needs it." Seto pulled a business card from a pocket of his jacket and handed it to the small duelist. A personal cell phone number was hand-written in pen below Seto's name and office contact information.

"Sure, Kaiba." Yugi watched him curiously as he turned to let himself out. "Uh, wait a minute - before you go. Is there any way I can make this up to you? You've done us all an unimaginable favor by helping him."

"Be that as it may, I didn't do it for you. You don't owe me anything. Tell that to your friends, too." With that, Seto left building and returned to his car. Yugi watched him go before returning to his living room. Honda was teaming up with Jounouchi, both taking turns (or talking over one another) explaining to Atem just how worried they both had been. Yugi stepped into his circle of friends to play referee just as a look of frustration began to creep across Atem's face.

"Hey, guys. Why don't we cool it down a bit for now? Let's give Atem some room to breathe."

"Yug', come on," Jou protested. "This ain't some little thing we're dealing with here. This is suicide. We can't just brush it aside; we gotta talk about it."

"And we will. Later. But for right now, let's just take it easy, and let him settle in some. There's no need to harp on him the minute he walks in the door." Yugi placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

Atem sighed. "Thank you, Yugi. And everyone else, I apologize for worrying you. But I'm alright. I don't feel that this… dying business is such a pressing issue. There's no need to keep worrying," he said quietly.

Yugi nodded. "Yeah, Kaiba told me about the same. Atem - if you don't mind my asking - what did happen this weekend that made the change?"

"Uh…" The Egyptian felt his cheeks growing warm and fought back a blush. "I'll tell you about that later. Speaking of Kaiba, where is he?" He hoped his change of subject wasn't too obvious.

"Oh. He left already." Yugi waved the question away and Atem tried not to let the disappointment flood his face. "Hey, we have a surprise for you, Atem," he said with enthusiasm.

Yugi handed his friend a small white envelope. The seal was unglued but tucked inside itself. He opened to find plane tickets inside, marked for a round trip to Cairo, Egypt.

Atem blinked, uncertain about the item in his hands.

"We know… _now_… that this transition has been tough for you," Yugi explained, "so we all pooled together and organized a trip to go back to Egypt."

"What? Why?"

"We thought we'd go on a little excavation," Anzu answered cheerfully.

Yugi's tone turned cautious. "You seemed to enjoy our last dig so much, we just thought… That is, unless you don't want to?"

"N-no, that's alright. It's just unexpected, that's all. So, you all want to go along for another dig?" His mood began to brighten. Something about the prospect of traveling to his homeland to uncover its secrets was enticing.

"Oh," Yugi added. "Grandpa will be coming, too." Atem chuckled. He had been relieved for one less body in the room to feel as though he were being attacked, but had to agree that the old man's personality added a lot to trips such as this. He was pleased to know at least he wouldn't have a chance to get bored.

"When do we leave?" Atem asked, after finishing his thoughts.

"Tomorrow morning, bright and early," Anzu answered with the same cheer as before.

"Oh."

"What's the matter? Is that a problem?" Yugi asked delicately.

"Yeah man, you got other plans?" Jou pitched in with a laugh.

_They've already purchased the tickets and planned the whole trip,_ he thought to himself._ Kaiba will understand. _"Ah… never mind. It was just sudden. It's not a problem." Atem brushed over it.

"Then it's a date!" Honda stated. He clapped his Egyptian friend on the back with his palm. "It's real good to have you back, buddy." Atem smiled back at his old friend, and was surprised to realize that the gesture wasn't entirely fake. His friends slowly pulled themselves out of the somber atmosphere, and the volume of the room began to increase as the group reacquainted themselves with one another. Atem sat back and absorbed it with new resolve.

* * *

The night passed quickly and before Atem knew it he was being shuffled into Jii-san's car. He was squeezed into the middle of the back seat between Jou and Anzu, with Yugi in front and Honda following behind on his motorcycle. Once the crew made it to the airport, Atem requested to borrow Anzu's cell phone.

"I just wanted to make certain I thanked Kaiba properly for this weekend. He took off too soon last night and I didn't have a chance." Anzu nodded and handed over the device. Atem left to find a more discreet area to speak.

"Kaiba," came the CEO's business voice on the other end. It was early, but Atem wasn't surprised that the CEO sounded like he was already working.

"Hey. It's Atem," the Egyptian spoke over the noise of the crowd. He watched as his friends began to go through the security check one at a time.

"Atem. I'm afraid I don't have much of an opportunity to speak right now - unless this is urgent, can it wait?"

"I'll make it quick. I just had to let you know I won't make it for lunch. Something else has come up. When one o'clock came around, I wouldn't want you to think I was blowing you off… or dead, or something." Jounouchi waved Atem back to the group so he wouldn't lose them through the security check. "Listen, Kaiba, I have to go." A woman carrying too many heavy bags bumped into him just then, yelling over her own cell phone. "Sorry," he muttered to her.

"Where are you? There's an awful lot of background noise."

"Airport. Look, Kaiba, I really have to go. I'll be in touch, alright?"

"Alright, I suppose," he said through his confusion. "Be safe. I appreciate the update. Are we on for later this week, at least?" Jou had run back through the crowd to catch up with his friend, and grabbed hold of his arm, pulling him back toward the security check.

"Ah-! Be careful, Jou! Excuse me… Sorry…" He said as they wormed through the crowd. "No, I'm sorry Kaiba. That won't work either. I'll call you, alri-" Jou grabbed the phone from his hand.

"Hey Kaiba. My pal's got a date with a shovel. Thanks again. Gotta go!" He snapped the device closed and handed it back to Anzu, who was also waiting to go through security until her friends returned.

"Jounouchi, I wasn't finished." The blond didn't seem to hear him.

"There you guys are. Let's go, before we miss the plane! Are you ok, Atem?" She rested her hand on his arm, eyes full of concern.

"Oh. Thank you for asking, Anzu, but I'm fine. Ready?" She nodded with a smile and took his hand, prepared to set off on their adventure together.

_I'm going to have to tell her soon_, he thought.

* * *

"A date with a shovel? What do you think that means?" Mokuba, who'd heard the short phone call, asked his older brother.

The previous night, upon returning to their mansion, Seto decided to fill his brother in on the details he'd missed while he was away - and while he'd been napping on the sofa. The boy was admittedly a bit bothered by the intimacy going on so close to him while he slept, but told his brother he was happy for them both regardless.

"I don't know what it means, Mokuba. I can only hope it isn't what it sounds like."

"He's in good hands, Nii-sama. His friends will take care of him." Seto didn't respond, but turned back to his work.


	8. The Life That's Mine

Atem awoke early when the sun shone through the ivory colored canvas making up the large tent he shared with his friends. Having arrived at the dig site late the previous evening, with only enough time to set up camp and turn in, Atem was not surprised none of his friends were awake yet. He was actually considerably surprised he wasn't more tired himself. It had been a long weekend, and his body _was_ having a little difficulty adjusting to the sudden travel.

Nonetheless, he sat up and stretched, and pulled his sleeping bag off of himself. Jounouchi, Honda and Yugi were in the tent with himself. He stepped around his friends carefully and exited the makeshift structure. Immediately upon stepping out, he breathed in the morning desert air.

He smiled at himself when he realized the first thought to cross his mind upon exiting the tent was that he wished Seto had been present to enjoy the air with him. He wished that he could call the man, but even if he'd had a phone of his own, he knew there was no reception in the area, and he expected that Seto would be busy anyhow. Atem did not expect the man made a habit of making time to talk on the phone without purpose.

Atem found his way to the makeshift canteen that had been set up the previous night and found himself a bottle of water. As he drank, thinking over the events of his weekend, a hand clamped onto his shoulder and he jumped, trying not to choke on his water. Cheerful laughter erupted from behind him.

"I didn't mean to startle you, my boy," said Professor Hopkins with a smile. Atem returned the smile to a degree, as soon as he had composed himself.

"I'm fine, professor. Good morning. I admit, I'm still surprised to see you've joined us on such short notice." The professor pulled a container of water out of the cooler for himself.

"Oh, I wouldn't miss a chance to dig with Mr. Mutou for the world, so long as I am able." He chuckled at himself. "Who knows how many years this old body has left? I've got to take every opportunity I can get." Atem nodded, but glanced back out toward the open desert. He liked Professor Hopkins, but conversing with him was not where his attention pulled him. The scientist followed his gaze and took a deep breath.

"It is beautiful out here, isn't it? I've always enjoyed the desert."

"It is." Atem nodded.

"Atem." The Egyptian hummed his response. "I won't be one to pry, but…" The professor hesitated, and Atem sighed, knowing what subject the man was intending to touch on. "Your friends all think a great deal of you. I know everyone here is trying to show you their support, and wants for you to see this opportunity they'd given you, not as a prison, but as freedom. You have your own life now, and you're free to live it as you choose. You need not be so wary of this extra freedom." The old man sighed, but a smile graced his lips. "My field of science is not that of the mind, so I don't have much expertise to draw from to help you. I can only hope that this excursion will provide you with the change of perspective you're looking for."

Atem blinked. When had he _said_ he was looking for a change in perspective? Was he, even? He must have been looking for… _something_, to even cooperate on coming along for the trip.

"I'm not going to lecture you. But, to my understanding, part of this trip was to give you some things to think about."

"I'd figured that much." Atem said quietly. "Thank you, Professor," he said after some time, without looking at him. He'd meant it as more of a closing statement than a measure of gratitude, and he hoped the professor understood that. He seemed to, since he didn't say anything further. He patted the Egyptian on the shoulder again before walking off back to his tent.

* * *

Yugi and his crew stood underneath the cool shade of a tent, carefully dusting and categorizing various trinkets they had found during the dig so far.

"Be careful with that brush, Jounouchi," Yugi warned while watching his friend clean off an old piece of broken pottery that had been found, less gently than the demonstration he'd been given. He stood nearby Honda, who was cleaning off a similar artifact, brushing the dirt and dust off into bins in front of them in the crude cleaning station that had been constructed. When one piece was finished to satisfaction, it was placed on a soft cloth and set aside.

"Will you guys be alright finishing up?" Yugi asked his two friends.

"Yeah, Yug', we got this." Jounouchi nodded. Yugi eyed Atem in the distance and wished to speak to him.

"Great," he said. "I'm going to go for a drive with Atem."

Jounouchi and Honda nodded before Yugi walked off.

* * *

Yugi found his other self, along with Anzu, on the tailgate of the pickup truck the group was using to travel between the camp site and the small town nearby where they bought their supplies. They seemed to be speaking quietly together, and while Yugi didn't want to interrupt, he had something on his mind he'd wanted to discuss.

Atem and Anzu looked up as their small friend approached.

"Hi, Yugi," Anzu smiled.

"Hello," Atem greeted as well. Yugi smiled and waved. He was relieved the two did not appear to be in the middle of a heavy discussion, and that he would not be disrupting anything too consequential.

"How is the clean-up coming along?" Atem asked. "I'm sorry, we should have been helping."

Yugi shook his head. "No need. It's going fine. The guys are just finishing up."

"We found a lot today," Anzu noted cheerfully, thinking back over their haul.

"Yeah, it's been great," Yugi agreed. "Uh, Atem? Would it be alright if I borrowed you for a few hours? I'm sorry, Anzu. I don't mean to interrupt." Anzu shook her head.

"No, it's alright. We were just catching up while we took a break. Are you guys going somewhere?"

"Yeah," Yugi nodded, but Atem wore a puzzled expression on his face.

"Okay. You guys take care. Have fun!" She squeezed Atem's hand before hopping down off the tailgate, and ventured over to the clean-up area. Yugi kept his feet on the ground and propped his elbows, arms crossed, on the tailgate so he could look directly at Atem while they spoke.

"What do you need, aibou?"

"Well, to start, I wanted to check on you." Atem's gaze fell away from his friend's face, but Yugi put up a hand to redirect his attention. "Please look at me. I _know_ you don't want to talk about what happened. I don't want to make you uncomfortable. But I want to touch base with you. I want to know how you're feeling." Atem kept his eyes on his young friend's face as requested, but didn't answer. "I want to help you, Atem, however I can. And I think you _want_ to feel better. So you need to let me. Talk to me."

Atem tried not to huff in frustration in front of Yugi. He wanted his privacy, but his friends… _why must they _care_ so much?_ he asked himself. "I know you're just trying to help me, Yugi. But… I just need to figure this out for myself. I need some time."

"Okay," Yugi nodded. "Okay. Take your time - however much you need. I don't want to be pushy. Just don't forget that we're here for you. You can talk to any one of us." Atem gave a small nod. He wanted to change the subject. He wanted his friends just to gloss over the entire occurrence. He would rather put the focus onto his friends, if he had to think about anything.

"You don't have to talk if you don't want to, but will you at least take a drive with me?"

"Where?"

"You'll see when we get there. But you'll have to drive. I'll direct you."

Atem considered Yugi's intentions. He expected that he knew where his motivation for this sudden drive likely stemmed from, and it made him uneasy. Nonetheless, he obliged his small friend, closing the tailgate and rounding the vehicle to the driver's side. Yugi followed to the passenger door and climbed into the large vehicle. Before sitting down, he retrieved a folded piece of paper from his back pocket, laying it across his lap and smoothing out the folds and wrinkles. Atem turned the key, which had already been hanging in the ignition. He looked over at his partner, noting that the paper draped across his knees was a map.

"Is our destination far?" he asked.

Yugi hesitated. "Yes and no. It's not too far, but the Professor did warn me that it's rough traveling in a vehicle. We'll have to drive slower."

"Can you at least tell me what's so important that we do this now?"

"Um, consider it a surprise. I think you'll like the place." Yugi said with a smile.

"Professor Hopkins told you about this… place?"

"I asked him about it. Okay, no more questions! I don't want to risk you figuring it out before we get there!" Yugi said cheerfully. "Now, we should take this road back out of the camp, and once we get onto the main road…" Yugi rattled off the starting directions.

Atem committed the directions to his memory and put the truck in gear. He wasn't very used to driving, and in an ordinary vehicle he knew Yugi would be the preferred operator, but the pick-up the group had been borrowing belonged to Professor Hopkins. Yugi simply couldn't comfortably reach the pedals like he could in his grandpa's car. Atem wasn't much taller, but it was enough. The truck wasn't brand new and the exterior was in rough shape, but thankfully it was an automatic, and Atem didn't have much difficulty picking up on operating it. He had driven between the camp and the nearby town when needed in the week and a half since the group had begun their excavation. Luckily, the desert roads were highly simplistic, and most of the time operating the vehicle was the only thing Atem had to pay attention to, aside from directions and conversation.

Atem snapped his fingers, as though he'd just remembered something.

"I _did_ have something to talk to you about, Yugi," he said.

"Yeah?" He smiled, happy for any chance to get his friend to open up. "What is it?"

"I wanted to ask you about something Kaiba started telling me. He told me about the tournament he threw since I'd left." He watched Yugi's face, waiting for a flicker of understanding, but all he saw was confusion. "He and Mokuba were in Domino on business?" Atem urged Yugi to finish the story, but the small duelist shook his head.

"I guess I'm having a little trouble recalling. Tell me what Kaiba said?" Atem relayed the story Kaiba had told him.

"He said that you were forced to duel for everyone's safety. Yugi, why didn't you tell me about this earlier?"

Yugi shook his head. "I'm sorry, Atem… That never happened. I don't know why Kaiba would have told you that. He hasn't thrown a tournament since Grand Prix. Kaiba Corp seems to be focusing more on…" Yugi continued speaking, but Atem had stopped listening. He grumbled under his breath, which finally caught Yugi's attention and he stopped mid-sentence.

"What is it?"

"I know why he said that to me." Now that he thought back on it, Seto's story seemed so transparent. Why hadn't he caught it?

"I hope his aim wasn't to worry you over nothing, just to give you something else to think about. The last thing you need is to-"

Atem's eyes lit up and he pounded a fist against the steering wheel. "The wine!" He exclaimed, cutting Yugi off again. "Damn that man," he almost laughed. Yugi's look of confusion returned. "Yugi, you know it isn't a habit of mine to drink often."

"Special occasions," Yugi nodded. He was the same, himself.

"Kaiba picked up on that quickly. He served wine with dinner every night. I suppose that's just common practice for a rich man?" He questioned. He really had no idea how the billionaire lived, only that he had no problem opening several varieties of expensive bottles during a single weekend, to only drink a few glasses of each.

"He told me," Atem switched back to his previous subject, "that during this tournament, you had a difficult time handling the pressure. I told him that I believed you were strong enough to handle anything." Yugi blushed and tried to shake his head but Atem stopped him. "If it weren't the case, you would not have been able to defeat me in our duel, and I never would have left."

Yugi tried to stop himself from thinking that he might have preferred if that had been the case.

"Kaiba tried to make me think you weren't strong enough to stop needing me. He was trying to give me some… sense of purpose, I suppose."

"That _does_ seem sort of… obvious. But I don't see how that links back to the wine."

"The wine is why I didn't see through his act. He'd given me too much to drink." Atem did laugh this time, looking up at the clear sky above him. "He knew exactly what he was doing. And here, I've been worried about why you wouldn't tell me such a thing had occurred."

"I'm sorry. I would have, if it was true. I would have wanted you to know." Atem smiled. The reassurance did give him some sense of relief. Had he really let himself worry about Yugi that much? He'd been trying to tell himself that Yugi was strong, and he knew his friend _was_, but a sense of… protectiveness tugged at him. Now that the Egyptian thought about it, it had been there all along.

While the Egyptian truly wanted the best for his dear friend, Atem was forced to face the fact that, whether Yugi truly needed him anymore or not, he still wanted him to.

* * *

The vehicle finally came to a halt on the side of a dusty road. The professor had been correct in warning of the rough terrain. The area was rocky, littered with the remains of what looked to have once been a great city. Now all that lay before them was rubble.

"…This is it?" Atem asked quizzically.

"Mhm!" Yugi nodded cheerily and folded his map. "Does this place… mean anything to you? Do you remember it?"

Atem stared out the window at his surroundings for a moment. He could make out fallen pillars, cracked into pieces, some with the bases still planted firmly in the ground. The walls and borders of buildings and homes could be made out here and there. Roads were no longer easily distinguishable, but there were paths here and there that seemed traversable. Thick layers of dust and sand smothered everything. The area had not been untouched recently, certainly there had been explorers, but there was enough evidence remaining for Atem to piece a handful of clues together.

To an archaeologist, it would have felt like standing in the wake of a tragedy.

But to Atem, it held a sense of home.

"I do," he said finally. He exited the vehicle, and Yugi was at his heels.

Ahead, several hundred yards beyond the mess where Yugi had stopped the truck, Atem could see an enormous structure, more intact than the rest of their surroundings. His feet automatically carried him toward it.

The fortress was blocked off on all sides by thick, heavy walls, far too tall to climb. Stone pieces of statues of the Egyptian gods set to guard the entrance to the structure were strewn about. Atem was thankful the two of them were small, and they found a large fissure to slip through. He found himself standing on the inside of what had once been his own palace courtyard. The place that had once been so lavish in its age now fell in ruins, but Atem did not feel sorrow as he studied his surroundings.

Instead, the man moved with purpose, through used-to-be passageways of the palace building and over the remains of destroyed interior walls separating the rooms that now hardly existed. When he felt like he had reached his intended destination, he stopped.

An actual ceiling covered a large corner of the huge room, though there was no covering over most of it. The bright blue sky and hot sun shone through and beat on his cheeks. A set of six steps led up to a damaged platform, a dais, on top of which sat what little was left of the throne. He turned to Yugi.

"This place is different today, of course, but, I can still recognize parts of what's left. This was my throne room. This whole place… is where I grew up."

"I know," Yugi nodded.

Atem closed his eyes. "I can still remember my initiation ceremony, when I first became king. And this was the throne of my father before me." He approached the dais where the great kings of this city had once perched. The throne was no longer standing, only cracked pieces remaining, but he remembered what it had looked like. He looked back at Yugi, who still stood at the doorway.

"I'm going to give you some privacy," Yugi said. "I'll wait for you in the truck."

"Yugi, are you sure? I don't have to do this. We can go back."

Yugi shook his head. "Go on! We came here for you. I'll be fine!" Yugi encouraged.

Atem looked back to his dear friend, but Yugi just waved to him and left in the direction of the truck. He sighed and turned back to the remains of his destroyed kingdom.

* * *

A/N: I am terribly sorry for the delay in updating! At the last minute before chapter seven went up I decided I wasn't satisfied with the ending for this whole piece, but I was drawing a blank on how to better it from my original intention. It took way too long, but I think I've got it now. The next installment will not take me nearly so long. Again, I'm sorry! I have no intentions of leaving this piece unfinished.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and for everybody's patience. If all goes according to plan, the next update for this story is to be the last, and ought to be up soon.


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